


If I Could Do It All Over Again

by theobliviouswriter



Category: Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: AU, Abusive Relationships, F/M, Hamiltime, Historical Inaccuracies, Modern, Oops, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-07 13:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 62,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10361076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theobliviouswriter/pseuds/theobliviouswriter
Summary: After Alexander died, he realized the existence of reincarnation. While most didn’t believe in the possibility, Alexander was one of those special few who remembered everything in their past lives. Because of this, he spent almost all of his lives searching for his dear Eliza. As his lives went on, things began to seem hopeless, all until he runs into her one day in the most unexpected place.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that with each reincarnation, the characters look different.

A single candle was the only source of light, illuminating the bedside of the room Alexander Hamilton’s paralyzed body resided in. Beside him, his wife remained, desperately clinging to his side, only hoping for him to persevere. In Alexander’s words, however, it was a mortal shot.

That did not cause his loving, compassionate Eliza to part from his side. The woman had already lost so much. All she could do was hope and pray that Alexander would pull through the madness of the last day or so. Despite losing hope, she plastered a fake smile on her face.

They’d been there for a little over a day and it all still felt so surreal. Only the night before, her husband was tucked in bed with her. The last thing Eliza expected was to watch her husband die so soon.

What pulled Eliza into reality, despite slight vertigo she endured earlier, was her husband’s relentless need to talk. Regardless of the great difficulty speaking was, he did it anyway. He had an input on everything and anything, and he wasn’t going to let his opinion go unnoticed. For an odd reason, that put some light on the situation they were in.

However, as the evening was beginning to draw to an end, Alexander’s need to talk began to falter. He could barely utter a word without wincing or flinching. It became apparent that it was nearing his time to go, yet it was the last thing Eliza wanted.

He was now pale, clammy. The tight grip on his wife’s hand was slowly loosening with each minute. To make his peace was what he wanted.

“Eliza,” he panted, his dull, violet eyes rolling into the back of his head as he talked. It was astonishingly hard for him to keep his eyes open. “I am so—”

“Sh, sh, sh,” she running her fingers through his fair hair. “Save your strength, please.”

A deep chuckle resonated through him until it hurt, the chuckle turning into a moan of pain. “My dear, you mustn’t delude yourself. I will merely be flesh and bone by dawn, I—”

“Alexander, please do not think like that. Please have faith. We have seven children. You could never leave them behind. You could never leave me behind. I cannot go on without you!” Hysteria began to creep into Eliza. Alexander was beginning to give up. The twinkle in his vibrant eyes was no longer there and his breathing was becoming infrequently shallow.

However, with all of the strength he could muster, Alexander reached up and cupped his beloved wife’s cheek. It was nearly impossible to smile, but he managed to, for her. “Do not fear, Eliza. My love, I will never leave you. I will always be…” It hurt to continue, so to reassure her, he used the pad of his thumb to brush her tears away. “‘Tis only a matter of time.”  

“This isn’t your time! You should not perish! My love, what will I do without you by my side?” The tears began to violently roll down Eliza’s thin cheeks, her dark eyes constantly on the verge of releasing more of the salty sadness.

“I am not required in your life, my love. Have faith. The good Father is watching us, ensuring the best. You must have faith. You must—”

“What God takes husbands from their wives, Alexander?” She spoke through her fits of whimpering.

With the last breath he took, Alexander wheezed out, “You must remember, my Eliza, you are a Christian.”

It was all too soon for Alexander’s eyes to roll back into his skull and for his breath to cease. The hand placed on Eliza’s cheek fell, his arm hanging limp. His other hand, which was entangled with Eliza’s, was rather loose.

Alexander was gone. He was no longer anything but a body like he’d said only moments before.

For a moment, Eliza was unable to take in the fact that she was clinging to a dead body’s side. As a matter of fact, for a moment, she didn’t even realize. She was far too focused on running her fingers through his fading, ginger hair. It was Angelica, who was standing to the side, who finally pulled her off of him.

“Angelica, what are you doing? I shan’t leave his side, not at this moment!” Eliza nearly screamed, causing the stern look on Angelica’s face to contort into a look of distress.  

She pulled her younger sister into an embrace, resting her head on the crook of her neck. Then, she began to cry.

“Please don’t cry, I—” Eliza was silenced the minute she got a good look at her husband.

Alexander was hanging there, his body limp. His arm dangled off of the bed in an awkward fashion and his head was rolled back. It became apparent that he was no longer alive, causing a shrill scream to emit from her.

In an attempt to rejoin him, she tried to bound towards the bed. However, Angelica pulled her back into her grasp and began to stroke her hair.

“You mustn’t, my dear,” Angelica tearfully lectured, trying to keep herself calm as she held her sister at bay.

“But I—” Eliza stopped herself, her eyes falling to the ground as she cried.

While Eliza was mourning, she felt Angelica pull herself away, surely to stop the clock in the room. It was customary to stop the clock at the time of death and start it as soon as the funeral was over. She didn’t know, however, why Angelica would leave her younger sister in such a state.

Despite wanting to question it, she didn’t. Instead, she turned to Angelica. Wiping her tears from her cheeks, Eliza finally asked, “Will you fetch the doctor? I must tidy Alexander up.”

Angelica, who was fixing the clock, turned back to face Eliza. The solemn look on her face was reinforced with the question. “You should—” Angelica stopped herself, not wanting to be insensitive. If Eliza needed a little more time with her late husband, she deserved it. “I shall, sister. I won’t be but a moment.”

As Angelica walked by, she reached over and squeezed her sister’s hand before exiting the room.

For the first time in a long while, Eliza was finally alone with him.

At first, she was hesitant to approach her husband’s dead body. The initial doubt was no longer there, but a burning feeling in the pit of her stomach replaced it. Anger was beginning to build up within her, the resentment for Aaron Burr bubbling up. Eliza knew, however, that Alexander wouldn’t want her to be angry. He wasn’t angry, so, she tried her best to suppress the feeling.

Once approaching his side, she took a seat back down on the pedestal next to his bed. “I am so sorry I could not convince you further not to duel. I am so sorry I could not be here sooner.” Tears began to prick Eliza’s dark eyes again as she placed one of his hands on his abdomen. “I wish I could have stopped you.”

Silence overtook Eliza as she finished straightening Alexander up. She weighed his eyelids down with a couple of coins she found sitting on the bedside table and he was fashioned to where he looked at peace. It made Eliza feel slightly better, but nothing would help the ache in her heart.

“Alexander, I pray you watch over Philip. I pray you reached a happy place. I love you, my dear Alexander.” With one more kiss to Alexander’s no longer flushed cheek, Eliza pardoned herself from his side and stood in solidarity.

The last thing Eliza expected was to lose yet another one of the people she fervently loved, let alone in a duel. She never expected her husband’s excessive pride to kill him, but then again, pride goeth before a fall. That was what her papa always told her; she should’ve believed him.

If she did believe him, maybe, just maybe, she could’ve persuaded Alexander more easily from doing something as virulent as a duel.

Despite it all, he was dead no matter what. He could not come back, but she knew she would see him again.

It was only a matter of time. 


	2. Chapter 2

The flickering of the pesky fluorescent light filling Alexander’s office cubicle was enough to make him nauseous. The man thought he should’ve been used to the annoying source of light by now, but it was obvious that it didn’t make him feel too hot. He’d written persuasive letters to the office maintenance to fix the light several times, yet it always seemed to flicker. **  
**

It took a lot to distract Alexander Madea, and the light was enough to pull him out of his zone. Usually, he would be head first in a shitton of paperwork that the boss loaded on him, and he was willing to do it. However, it was hard to do so when feeling sick.

So, Alexander pushed himself from the wooden chair he perched in while working and headed towards the break room.

He needed some more coffee anyway.

Upon reaching the break room, he brushed against a colleague, and a close friend of his, Gilbert Mercier. The tall, dark, and handsome man flashed a smile at him before pushing the door open. “Bonjour, Alex.”

Alexander glanced up at a man and spared him a smile before walking into the break room. “Hey.”

Gilbert noticed something was off with his little friend, so he closed the break room door behind them. He always knew there was something about Alexander ever since they became roommates. The man knew Gilbert better than he knew himself, even when they first met. However, Alexander seemed off in a different way, which would throw Gilbert off.

“Is something wrong, Alexander?” Gilbert inquired as he took a seat in a chair tucked under the table in the middle of the room. “You seem especially down in the dumps today, my friend.”

As Alexander poured himself a cup of coffee, he turned to glance back at Gilbert, his good, good friend. He was sure it wasn’t just the stupid flickering light above his desk. For the first time in quite a while, he felt…stuck. “I don’t know, Laf, I—”

“Laf? Who is that?” The man asked, batting his eyes as he shifted slightly in his seat.

Alexander’s eyes widened at the realization of what he’d just called Gilbert. He was exceptionally good at keeping himself from calling Gilbert by his past nicknames, yet it slipped every once in awhile. “I, uh…I don’t know. You look like a Laf,” Alexander stammered.

Gilbert was not convinced. The man was terrible at lying. “Okay, Alexander.” He didn’t want to dig too deep, yet he was still concerned. “Are you not feeling well?”

Alexander didn’t see the point of lying. He might as well have spilled. “The light above my cubicle is making me nauseous. I can’t concentrate.” Once he had his coffee the way he liked it, he placed the mug on the table and sat across from Gilbert.

“Anything else? You’ve been in a mood for quite a—”  
  


“Alex, I still don’t know why in the hell you refuse to use a swivel chair. That’s kind of ridiculous. I mean, it’s far more convenient.” John Ramos, another close friend of Alexander’s, interrupted as soon as he walked into the break room. “Do you have a thing against Thomas Jefferson? You know, he made the swivel chair—”

“I hate that motherfucker,” Alexander grumbled rather darkly, causing both Gilbert and John to stare at him in slight concern.

“Uh, I mean, he was a pretty big asshole of a founding father—”

“You’re telling me!” Alexander nearly shouted, causing both men across from him to jump. Despite that, he continued to rant, totally forgetting that the men before him remembered nothing. “The asshole tried to kill my financial plan. He was a slave owner. He impregnated one of his young slaves! It’s so fucked up! I don’t know where the fuck he is now, but I’m glad he’s not in my life.”

Alexander’s infamous rambling proved him to be an odd bird a lot of the times, but what he had just said truly proved him to be off.

Gilbert was too polite to say anything rude, but John didn’t have a filter. “What in the fuck are you talking about, Alexander? Who do you think you are, Alexander Hamilton? He’s dead. D-E-A-D. Gone. You really think—”

“Be quiet, John. I know you are not trying to be rude, but you are,” Gilbert finally spoke up, turning to Alexander. His little friend was completely red in the face, embarrassment gracing his Puerto Rican features.

Alexander sat there, mortified. He usually didn’t slip up and spew about his past lives, but his tongue was loose for the oddest reason. Thankfully, Gilbert was too kind to let it bother him, but John had always been fiery and passionate. The man had always been an activist, whether it be assembling a black battalion or advocating for women’s rights. However, he didn’t know if his dear John would advocate for reincarnation.

It was quite a taboo thing to talk about.

Eventually, the confusion and startled look on John’s face melted away and he placed a hand on his hip. “Alex, I’m seriously worried about you. Are you okay? I mean, most people don’t claim to be founding fathers of the United States.” Slowly, John walked towards Alexander and cupped the man’s cheeks as soon as he reached him. “You feel hot.”

Alexander swatted John’s hands away and gave him a look of agitation before taking another sip of his coffee. “It’s because I’m drinking coffee.”

“Is he usually delirious like this?” John continued, pressing a freckled hand to his friend’s tanned forehead. “He’s not around me all of the time, but he lives with you, Gil.”

Gilbert glanced at Alexander and cocked a brow. He never really thought about it. Alexander had his quirks, but everyone did. His were just…peculiar. “No, is he feverish?”

“Yep.” John pressed a kiss to the center of Alexander’s forehead to confirm his suspicions and nodded. “Poor Alexander Madea is sick. No wonder you feel nauseous.”

Because of Alexander’s sickness, Gilbert took the man’s coffee away and stood up. He was quick to grab Alexander and place him on the couch in the corner of the room. Alexander attempted to sit up, but Gilbert forced him down on the couch and placed a blanket over his body.

“You mustn’t get up, Alexander. You are sick. I’ll go to a shop and grab you some soup. I’m sure Mister Robinson would not mind.” After he tucked a curl out of his eyes, Gil stood up straight and turned to John.

“I’ll… stay with Alex. You just go, okay?” With that demand, John grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the couch before taking a seat next to his sick friend.

Gilbert was quick to leave, allowing Alexander and John to have a moment to themselves.

At first, nothing but silence filled the room. Neither man had anything to say. Alexander was too lost in his mind to talk to John about anything as simple as the weather, and John was too busy looking up symptoms to unofficially diagnose his friend with some sort of illness.

The silence broke when Alexander cleared his throat.

John’s head shot up and he cocked a brow before asking, “Yes?”

“Have you ever been so in love with someone that you would do anything to make sure they were okay?” Alexander asked, his voice distant. His eyes twinkled with something John had never seen in Alexander: love. John had only known Alexander for the extent of his time working as a secretary, which was only about six months, but they were very close. The suddenly lovelorn man threw John off.

“I mean, not really? I’m not real good with love, Alex.” The man chuckled. “If I were, I’d be with my baby mama.”

A smile flickered onto Alexander’s face. His Laurens was always so independent. “Love is a funny thing. Drives you mad, John. I’m so in love with someone, but I don’t know who anymore. For all I know, she could just be a shadow of who she was. Time changes you.” The look of hope slowly faded, replaced by a look over solemness. “The last time I really saw her, she was in love with me too. But then we parted. She became a different person with each lifetime, too young, too old. Things never worked. I found her once. She was a little girl, playing in the creek by my barn. She looked up at me and I knew it was her. I couldn’t have her.” The solemness soon faded into a neutral expression. “Someday we will meet again.”

John stared at Alexander, not sure what his friend was rambling on about. He sounded daft, which launched John into a deeper concern. “Alexander, did you eat some magic mushrooms or some shit because you’re sounding absolutely ridiculous. What about a girl? Different lives? What the fuck, man? Is this the founding father thing?” John tried his best not to be so brash, but he couldn’t help it.

Alexander was pulled from his daze at the question, his face flushed from embarrassment, yet again. The last thing he wanted to do was expose himself, make himself look like a fool. That was what he was, however. John had to think he was crazy.  

He wasn’t crazy, he was just far too knowledgeable.

Alexander didn’t have the motivation to explain everything to John. The man would either believe him or try to check him into a mental health clinic, but the probability of the second was much higher. So, he pulled his phone out and let out a huff. “I would lie, but I’m bad at lying. I’d explain to you, but you’d think I’m crazy. I just don’t think you’re ready for it John. So, I’d like to not discuss this. We can discuss something else, though.”

The concerned look on John’s face did not cease as he slowly put his phone away. He knew there was something really wrong with Alexander, but he wasn’t going to talk about it anymore. At his friend’s request, he decided to move on.

“Have you ever gone ice skating, Alexander? I mean, I know you’ve been in America for a rather long time now, especially in the cold parts. I mean, it might be fun though. I’ve actually never ice skated…” John chuckled awkwardly before glancing back at Alexander, who yet again looked like he was in a daze.

The first time Alexander really ice skated was in the winter with Betsey a few days before George’s birthday. When he really thought about it, it was on that day, hundreds of years ago. A smile flickered onto his face, but he stayed silent. He missed his Betsey.

“Yeah,” Alexander finally answered. “I have.”

A feeling of relief moved within John at the normal reply. His friend was coming back. The man must’ve been on a high, John was convinced of it.

“Will you take me sometime? I’m terrible at ice skating,” John chuckled, sitting back in his chair. He was going to say something else, but Alexander began to sit up. Like a good friend would, John was quick to have Alexander lay back down.

“I will if you don’t treat me like a baby,” Alexander rebuked, nudging John aside. In defiance, he sat up and regretted it the minute he became light headed. He was fine, he convinced himself, before looking back at John.

“Well, that’s a date.” John flashed a smile before taking a seat next to the now apparently sick Alexander.

Again, quiet consumed the two as they sat side by side. Alexander was trying his best not to throw up and John was concerned with Alexander.

The man, for all of the six months he knew him, never seemed to be mentally ill in any sort of way. He was very smart, witty, sharp. But then again, Alexander could’ve been on medication the whole time. He doubted that was the case, but who knew? John was thoroughly confused and hoped Alexander was getting help if he needed it. Then again, it was only just recent. Maybe he was high, or maybe it was just a sickness.

John didn’t know.

Eventually, Alexander began to gag, pulling John out of his thoughts.

When he looked over, he noticed that Alexander was green in the face and looked about ready to spew. With catlike reflexes, John pounced to the trash, grabbed it, and placed it in front of Alexander before the man could upchuck.

While Alexander spilled the contents of his stomach into the trash below him, John ran his hand up and down his friend’s back in a soothing pace. John had never seen his friend so sick, or sick at all. From what he knew, Alexander had only been sick once, back when his mother was still around. Otherwise, the man proclaimed he was a man of steel.

Then again, Alexander proclaimed a lot of things.

Spitting a few times, Alex finally sat back up and looked over at his friend. A bit of drool was dribbling down his chin and threatened to roll down into his lap. To keep it from doing so, Alexander went to wipe it, but John grabbed him by the wrist and pulled it from his mouth.

“Don’t do that, Al… Let me just get something to wipe that.”

While John went to grab a napkin, Alexander sat there, a hand cupping his chin so drool couldn’t continue its way down his chin. He was lucky he shaved that morning, otherwise, his beard would’ve been a mess.

Just as he went to lean back on the couch, the door creaked open, revealing his boss, George Robinson, and Gilbert. He’d returned with the soup, but it looked as if George caught him in the act.

Out of respect, Alexander was quick to his feet. “Mister Robinson, how are you today?”

Alexander always wanted to impress the boss, who just so happened to be the first president of the United States a couple of hundred of years ago. He had the same determined look in his eyes and an identical persona. That was how Alexander knew.

The boss gazed over Alexander’s small, ill-looking body and a look of disappointment crossed his face. George went to say something, but his eyes fell to Ramos, who stood by Alexander’s side. He held out a paper towel, his eyes glued on their boss.

“Mister Robinson, is there an issue?” John asked politely, holding his hands behind his back as soon as Alexander took the paper towel.

George’s eyes flickered from John, to Alexander, and then back to John. As a boss, he was supposed to raise his voice and demand they get back to work. As a human, however, he knew that he had to consider why they weren’t at work. All three of the men that were suspect always did the most work in the office.

“I would like to know why you three aren’t working, but it looks as if I know why one of you aren’t.” George nodded to the puke filled trash can and tried his best to hide his disgust.

“Yeah, about that…” As John trailed off, his eyes fell to the trashcan. “I’ll get it, if you’ll pardon me.” After laughing awkwardly, John grabbed the trashcan and made his way out of the break room.  

A silence filled the room, tension creeping in as well as soon as Gilbert placed the soup on the table and exited the quarters. That left Alexander alone with his boss for the first time in over two-hundred years.

Never in his other lives had Alexander met up with George Washington, truly, until then and the feeling of dread and relief filled him because of it. For the longest time, the man was like a father to him. But Alexander had to sit back and play the role as Alexander Madea, the secretary of the biggest lawyer in New York City.

The silence was cut short the minute George cleared his throat. Alexander’s eyes looked upward towards his boss as he stuck the napkin into his pocket.

“Is there something you need, sir? I’m sorry I had to leave my cubicle. The light above my desk was making me feel sick.”  Alexander shifted from foot to foot, trying to keep his head ducked down so his boss could not smell his breath. If he had a toothbrush, he would’ve excused himself to brush his teeth. He didn’t exactly have an option though.

“I ordered for the maintenance to fix the light several times, Alexander. It must be the wiring. Would you like to be moved temporarily so they can fix it?” George asked.

For some reason, the edge that was usually in his voice was not there. It was soft, and dare Alexander say it, caring.

“If you could, please?”

“Of course, Alexander,” George assured with a smile on his face. A light caught in George’s brown eyes, causing them to glisten with a look of familiarity.

Taking a seat on the couch, George scooted aside and patted the cushion beside him. “Sit with me, please.”

Alexander hesitantly sat beside his boss, putting a bit of distance between them so George wouldn’t smell anything too unpleasant.

“Is there something you’d like to ask of me, sir?” Alexander asked, crossing his arms over his chest. It was rare that George talked to him, unless he needed something. Even then, it would be a simple text. Never was it face to face.

George looked as if he was considering something, but shook his head at himself before looking back at his employee. “Do you know what’s coming up, Alexander?”

In a heartbeat, Alexander knew what George was referencing. “Your birthday, sir. February twenty-second.”  
  


A peculiar looking smile crossed George’s face. “Yes. That’s right.”

While George sat back in thought, Alexander found it interesting that both his birthday and George’s fell on the same day that it did hundreds of years before.

“Anyway,” George continued, “I am having a party and I was wondering if you could place an order for my cake. After that, you’d be dismissed for the day. You don’t look too hot, son.”

Alexander wanted to cringe at the title, but he faked a smile and nodded, keeping eye contact with his boss. “Of course, just lay it on me.”

Almost immediately, George handed over the order and stood up. “After you place it, just call me. Let me know that the transaction went through.”

With a squeeze to Alexander’s shoulder, George spared a smile for the far younger man and left him alone in the breakroom.

The young man’s eyes fell to the order George wanted: a quadruple-tiered chocolate cake from Walker’s Bakery. He’d passed the place several times on his way to work, but never took the time to actually go in. It was always too early or too late, but it looked as if he would finally be able to.

Shoving himself up from the couch, Alexander placed the note in his pocket and made his way to the door.

Alexander Madea was ready to simply place the order and go home.


	3. Chapter 3

The blistering cold of late winter was not something a small animal such as a bunny should’ve endured, but Walker’s Bakery was also not a place for the adorable mammal to be. Eliza hadn’t any idea of how she got in. All she knew was that she walked in that morning and found the fluffy creature huddled near the heater. **  
**

She couldn’t have the animal sitting out in the cold, but she wasn’t allowed in the bakery. It was a strict violation, a safety hazard. However, she couldn’t find herself to part from the rabbit.

She’d been sitting outside with it for the past forty minutes. It was a foolish feat, but she didn’t want the bunny to be cold. So, she sat on the sidewalk in front of the vibrant bakery windows. The small animal was hugged to her coated chest, no harm in its way.

“Eliza, what are you doing?” The question was followed by the chime of the door bells ringing.

When she looked up, she found Peggy, the youngest of the three sisters, staring at her in amusement and concern.

Eliza always had a draw towards animals, so it was almost inevitable for her to cuddle with the bunny she found.

“I didn’t want her to be cold. We’re not allowed to bring her in, and I didn’t want her to be all alone.” Eliza glanced back down at the bunny protectively launched in her arms and smiled when it looked up at her with its big, dark eyes like Eliza had.

“I hate to ruin your moment with the animal, Eliza, but we kind of need you. Tench doesn’t come in until later and we have a lot of things to sort out. Plus, we need our cake decorator.” Peggy put a hand on her hip out of impatience and gazed over her sister.

The mention of Tench caused her to perk up slightly. It was her fiancé that helped her open her bakery. She couldn’t thank him enough for that.

Eliza went to put the bunny down, but she couldn’t find herself to. It was too cute. Letting out an aggravated sigh, she glanced up at Peggy. “Will you do me a favor?”

The younger sister looked rather unamused, as if she already knew what Eliza was going to ask. “What?”

“Will you protect Cornelia for me? I don’t want her to—”

“You named the bunny?” Peggy asked plainly. She was no longer surprised. Eliza named every animal she found.

“Yeah. I liked the name..” Eliza glanced down at the bunny one more time before holding it towards her sister. “Please, until lunch, at least. Then I’ll run to a pet store and get it some bedding and—”

“You know what Tench said about rescuing more animals,” Peggy warned as she took the small thing.

It _was_ pretty cute.

“I don’t care. It needs a home, Pegs.”

As soon as Eliza stood up, she dusted the snow from her butt and turned back to her beautiful, naturally tanned sister. Eliza always envied her sisters’ beauty. At times, she felt rather plain. However, she wasn’t. The woman just so happened to not have a single vain bone in her body.

“You already have three cats, two dogs, and a couple of mice you caught in the apartment, Eliza. Where in the world are you going to fit a bunny?” Peggy asked, ultimately taking her sister’s place. “And what is going to happen to those animals when you decide to have kids? You won’t have any space.”

“Tench doesn’t want any children for a while. I’m not worried about that,” Eliza promised as she headed towards the glass door. Just as she was about to walk in, she turned back to Peggy. “I’ll bring you some hot chocolate, okay? Thank you!”

“Did you figure out why Eliza was just– Oh, hey.” A smile flickered onto Angelica, the eldest of the three’s, face. “Peggy and I were worried.”

“I was just cuddling a bunny,” Eliza enlightened Angelica as she made her way into the back of the bakery.

She took her time to get out of her winter garb and adorn herself with her uniform: an apron with the store’s logo on it. Once she was completely ready for the day to begin, she walked back out and turned the “Open” sign on before turning back to Angelica.

“You’re not keeping it, are you?” Angelica inquired with the same plainness as Peggy’s in her voice.

It was times like those that Eliza could tell that the two were definitely biologically related.

“I have to. It’ll probably die in this weather,” Eliza whined, washing her hands once she reached the sink. “It’s too cold.”

“I wanna know how it got in here in the first place,” Angelica laughed, deciding not to lecture her younger sister. Eliza was too stubborn to listen to her elder. The woman was going to keep the bunny, no matter what.

“Me too, at least I didn’t find any droppings,” Eliza muttered as she began to tidy up the tables in the front of the bakery. Although Eliza didn’t want to consider it, it was probably people that didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of an animal. The thing ended up inside because it was frigid outside.

“Mhm,” Angelica halfway replied.

For a while, the only thing that filled the small bakery was the sound of the radio. It was barely audible as it was, but the distinct bass in the song gave some sort of beat.

Eventually, the first customer meandered their way into the bakery, causing both ladies to look up at the sound of tinkling bells.

Almost every day, their father came along and ordered something. He was their number one supporter and it was nice of him to order. Eliza and Angelica always tried to insist that he didn’t have to, but Peggy always egged him on.

“Hey, Daddy,” Eliza chirped, abandoning the table she was wiping down for a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around her father and buried her face in his chest before looking up at him. “You really didn’t have to come.”

Philip Walker placed a hand on top of his daughter’s chopped locks and smiled. “It’s always my pleasure to be your first customer of the day.”

After returning the squeeze, he walked up to the eldest sister.

“Did you see Peggy out there?” Angelica asked as she grabbed their daddy’s usual: a blueberry muffin.

“No, is she here?” He replied, a sparse brow raised as she turned to look outside.

Eliza’s eyes widened in shock. It was rare that the twenty-four-year-old left, so it made her a little worried.

Immediately, she pulled out her phone and called the younger sister. Thankfully, she answered after two rings.

“Hey, Liza. Something wrong?”

“Where are you?” Eliza asked with a hint of relief in her voice. For a second, she thought someone stole Peggy.

“I went to get your furry friend a home. I’m going to a pet store.” Oddly, Peggy sounded kind of excited.

“Is there someone at the pet store you like or something? What’s going on—”

“The bunny is really cute. Can I keep it?”

The question hung in the air as Eliza stood there in shock. Peggy wasn’t a big animal person, but she wanted a bunny.

“By all means, take her. And her name is Cornelia.”

Eliza hung up with those words.

“Whose name is Cornelia?” Philip asked, sitting at a recently cleaned table.

“Eliza found a bunny. She wanted to keep it. You know how Tench is though. The two already have a million other animals,” Angelica answered for Eliza before disappearing into the kitchen to start on their second batch of cupcakes.

“I don’t care what Tench says, Angelica. If I want another animal, I’ll get another animal,” Eliza spoke in defiance.

She loved her fiancé, but he always a bit controlling. Eliza was lucky she had a mind of her own, she just hoped the controlling factor would die down before he decided they could have kids. The man was a work in progress, and he recognized the issue after he did it. He just never seemed to try and fix it.

It was obvious Tench loved her though. He bought her things, kissed her goodnight, rubbed her feet after a long day at work. The important factor was that he was trying.

While Eliza was thinking about her dear fiancé, the conversation shifted. It went from controlling fiancés to from what Eliza understood, babies.

“I think John is ready for children,” was what Angelica said when Eliza began to really pay attention again. “I’ve been ready for a few years now, but every time I used to bring it up, he’d look a bit squeamish. I brought it up a couple of days ago, again, but he seemed like he actually liked the idea.”

“So, am I expecting a grandchild anytime soon?” their father asked before taking another bite of the muffin.

Walking around the bar, Angelica continued to stir the cupcake batter before answering, “Maybe. I don’t know yet. I just hope we have one before miss Eliza does.”

“Oh, you will.” Eliza spared her sister a smile as she sat at the table with her daddy.

“I don’t know why you say it like that, Liza. I mean, you’re getting married next year. Don’t you want a kid _after_?” Angelica asked, picking up on the solemn undertone of her sister’s reply.

Eliza knew it would’ve been better to wait, but she probably wouldn’t have had so many animals cooped up in her small Manhattan apartment if she had a child. She felt the need to nurture, that was why she had so many animals. But she could wait. She didn’t _need_ a child, but her baby fever was beginning to become unbearably hot.

“I can wait, but I wouldn’t be too disappointed if it accidentally happened,” Eliza admitted, pushing herself up from the chair. After walking around and pressing a kiss to her father’s head, she dismissed herself to the kitchen of the bakery.

Outside of the heated kitchen, she could hear her father and sister exchange goodbyes. Then, after a couple of minutes, Angelica joined her.

“Something’s up.”

Eliza turned around and cocked a brow at her sister. “Is something up?”

“With you, yes. You seem kind of… deflated, I guess.” Angelica patted her sister’s shoulder before placing the bowl of batter on the stainless steel counter.

Angelica was right. Something was up, and it was really an internal issue. However, she knew she could always confide in her sister. “I don’t know if I’m ready to marry Tench.”

A look of shock covered Angelica’s face at Eliza’s confession. She turned to her sister before muttering, “Are you being serious?”

The woman nodded, her chestnut bob bouncing as she did. “I… still want to marry him, eventually. It feels like we’re drifting down separate paths though. Ever since I started bringing animals to the house, he’s been acting weird. Even before that though, he’s been acting different. I don’t know. I’m probably paranoid or something.”

“Hey.” Angelica placed a comforting hand on Eliza’s shoulder and began to rub it soothingly. “That’s just how it is sometimes. John acted weird when we were about to get married. People get cold feet. It’s natural. If it’s really bugging you, just go to a relationship counselor.”

Eliza laughed at her sister’s suggestion. “A relationship counselor? Tench would rather shoot himself than go to a relationship counselor. You know how he—” The tinkling of the shop door opening interrupted her, “—is.”

Angelica leaned back slightly to peer out of the kitchen just to see who it was, and sure enough, it was Eliza’s fiancé. “Speak of the devil!”

Eliza peeked out of the kitchen as well, finding her dreadlocked prince standing there with a bouquet of flowers. “What a suckup.”

“What did he do?” Angelica giggled as her sister headed to the floor of the bakery.

“We had a fight about the animals last night,” Eliza sighed before walking out of the kitchen and towards her man.

Tench always greeted Eliza with a hug and a kiss, and he did just that… minus the kiss on her lips. Instead, it was a kiss on the cheek. He knew the boundaries she set when she was angry with him, so she was glad he respected them.

“Hello, my love,” Tench muttered against her cheek, pressing the bouquet of flowers to her body. “Are you still angry with me?”

Eliza bit her lip, glancing over to see if Angelica was watching. Surely enough, she was. Turning around to face the man she loved, she let out a huff. “I don’t know. I mean, the animals are my babies and trying to get rid of them makes me upset.”

Tench wanted to speak up and say it was only the mice he wanted to rid of, but he didn’t want to make Eliza feel any worse… Instead, he would take care of it…very slowly.

So, to make her feel better, he kept an arm wrapped around her. “I’m sorry.”

A smile faltered onto Eliza’s face at the apology. He always apologized, and she could only pray that he would refrain from talking about ridding of her animals again.

After embracing Tench for another few minutes, Eliza stepped out of his grasp and handed over the flowers again. “Can you put this in a vase, please? And put it where it can’t get on any of the food. That’s surely a violation.”

Tench glanced down at the flowers before looking at the space Eliza was standing at. She’d disappeared. “I… uh, yeah. Did you notice what kind of flower I got you—”

“Delphiniums, yeah. They’re beautiful, baby,” Eliza praised as she walked back out of the kitchen with a vase in hand. “Just fill this and you should be good to go.”

“Will do.” Tench kissed Eliza’s cheek after fetching the vase and walking back into the kitchen.

For a while, Eliza was by herself. She tended to the cupcakes, making sure they looked professional in their case. The floors were perfectly swept and each of the tables were cleaned. Everything looked perfectly professional, which was rare. Oftentimes, they were extremely busy in the morning. Since it was rather icy outside, it was understandable as to why no one was there.

Eventually, Eliza finished and she ran out of things to do, so she sat down. She would’ve gone into the kitchen, but as she passed by, she swore that she heard Tench and Angelica talking. It was rare they had one-on-one conversation, and after Eliza’s spiel of how she was feeling, she knew it was probably the best that they talked. Eliza was just so glad she had such a good big sister.

As she sat down, however, the front door opened. Her eyes fell to who entered and she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw her youngest sister struggle to get into the bakery with the large bunny cage in her arms.

“Can you help me out, Liza? Good God,” Peggy swore as she struggled to squeeze into the bakery.

Eliza went to stand up, but a masculine hand from outside held the door open for her sister. So, Eliza sat back down and cocked a brow. “Did you bring a gentleman along with you?”

“Just a polite customer,” Peggy replied before going to take the cage into the kitchen.

“Margarita Catherine Walker, what do you think you’re doing?” Eliza gasped, pouncing to her feet to stop her sister from bringing the cage into the kitchen. “You can’t bring animals into the kitchen!”

As soon as Eliza took the cage from her sister’s hands, she walked towards a more appropriate place to put it.

“Don’t you _dare_ call me Margarita,” Peggy groaned as she plopped down in a seat. “You know how I feel about that name.”

Eliza went to turn around to face her sister, but instead, her eyes fell on the man that was waiting for service. He looked rather pale, and he seemed to have green undertones. She didn’t want him to wait too long, so she walked behind the counter and fixed her apron slightly before saying. “Hello, welcome to Walker’s bakery. I’m Eliza. Are you ordering a cake or wanting to sit down and eat.”

The man’s eyes snapped up the minute he heard her name. When he looked into her eyes, she swore she felt her heart skip a beat. He wasn’t gorgeous by any means, but there was something in his eyes that reminded her of someone. She just didn’t know who.

His mouth hung open, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets the minute he caught a glimpse of her. Eliza was unsure why. She wasn’t gorgeous like her sisters. It was still flattering, however.

“Eliza,” he rasped, reaching out to grasp onto her hand. Once it was encased in his bigger hand, he held it up to his lips and began to pepper kisses to the top of it. He began to mumble incoherently, but Eliza swore she heard him say, “Oh my God, I thought I would never see you again! You must forgive me, my love!”

Eliza was too shocked to pull away from his grasp. She had no idea who he was, or what he was talking about. However, he seemed to know her quite well.

“I should’ve never left your side that morning, I must redeem myself!” the man continued, his eyes glancing back up at her. There were tears filling brimming his eyes, causing Eliza to further worry about the man.

“Sir?” She bit her lip, clearing her throat before continuing. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The hope, the excitement in the man’s eyes slowly faded at her words, causing the pity in her to swell.

He hesitantly lowered her hand from his lips and looked back up at her. “Oh, yeah.” He chuckled sadly, wiping the tears out of his eyes. “You wouldn’t remember.”

“You two seem to know each other rather well,” Tench’s voice echoed through the bakery, his hand clasping on Eliza’s shoulder as soon as he stood behind her.

The pitiful man in front of Eliza looked up at the man behind her, and suddenly, a look of anger flashed through his eyes. His chest puffed slightly out of dominance. “Tench.”

Eliza’s lover looked from him to Eliza. “How do you know—”

“I just do,” he spoke hastily, placing a small piece of paper on the counter separating the couple and the man. “This is my order. I wrote my number and my boss’ number on there just in case you had any questions.” The man gazed over the couple one last time before muttering, “That should be it.”

With that, he went to leave. However, Eliza called, “Sir?”

He turned back around, his eyes falling back on her. He looked defeated. “Yes?”

“What’s your name? So I know who to call.” She lied.

The guy looked conflicted for a good ten seconds before looking back at Eliza. “My name is Alexander Hamilton.” With that, he quickly left the bakery.

“That guy is a nutjob, that’s what he is,” Tench laughed, retiring to the kitchen. Again, Eliza was alone.

There was an impeccable familiarity about the man, but Eliza didn’t know where she could’ve seen him before. It was obvious that he wasn’t from New York with the accent he had.

So, she leaned against the counter her glanced down at the order. It was from George Robinson, a good friend of her father’s. Had she seen him before because of his work?

No. That wasn’t it.

The party, from what she knew, was in the next couple of days. He would’ve been there, surely.

Alexander, the man, was oddly charming in the strangest way. Eliza just looked at him and she was already guiltily wooed. She felt bad for thinking it, but she couldn’t wait to see him again.


	4. Chapter 4

It was very rare for Alexander to be a silent thinker. The man was such a chatterbox that he always thought out loud. Rather it be telling himself how to tie a tie or expressing his feelings about a telenovela he watched with the clueless Lafayette, he had something to say. It was only in his most intense thinking sessions that he didn’t say a word, and he was in the middle of one. **  
**

Only a few days ago was the first time he saw his Eliza again. After hundreds of years of waiting, of playing a role of a different Alexander, he finally found her. He was waiting for that moment for the longest time, and what did he find? A man much more handsome than him looking over her.

The way his fingers wrapped her delicate shoulder showed possession of the woman that was Alexander’s.

Tench Tilghman was always fond of Eliza, of course it was natural instinct to draw towards her. Alexander didn’t blame him though. Eliza had always been beautiful beyond description.

He just wasn’t there on time, all he wanted was to be with her again. There was no chance. They looked in love, of course she’d be in love with him.

Alexander’s silence hadn’t gone unnoticed. He was lucky to have two friends that were thoroughly worried about him.

So, while he was moping around, Gilbert intruded on the man and kicked the bottom of his foot as soon as he entered his small friend’s room.

“Get up.”

Alex’s eyes fell on Gilbert, a lump forming in his throat when he noticed the man’s attire. He was cloaked in a familiar, yet cheap looking fabric resembling a major general’s coat in the 1700’s.

He’d completely forgotten that George’s birthday was that day.

“What time is it?” Alexander asked as he sat up from his unmade bed. He was surprised Gilbert didn’t trip on anything while entering, the room was a mess.

“Time for you to get your mind off of that girl you’ve been pining over,” Gil replied with amusement in his voice. He gallivanted to Alexander’s closet before pulling the man’s outfit out.

When Alexander found out that George’s party was going to be “revolutionary”, he hopped onto the idea and began making his costume that day. He spent days slaving over the damn thing, and he was pretty happy with its results. It looked just like something he would’ve worn back then.

However, the mention of Eliza overrode the feeling of pride.

“I’ve wanted her for the longest time, Gil. I can’t just get her off of my mind,” Alexander moaned, stripping out of his shirt. His mind hadn’t been off of her since he died that night in 1804.

“Do it, just for the night. There will be a lovely lady wanting to dance with you, I’m sure,” his friend assured as he turned to Alexander.

When Gilbert took in Alexander’s half naked frame, his eyes widened. There were scars all over the man.

“Sainte merde.”

Alexander cocked a brow and looked down at his war-torn body before chuckling. “What? Can’t take my birthmarks?”

Every single scar Alexander collected from his lifetimes were on full display.

Gilbert dropped the outfit as he made his way over to Alexander, grasping onto his arm once he reached the small man. The Frenchman hastily held it closer to his face before running his finger over the scars, or “birthmarks”. “I have some like these…”

Alexander didn’t know if Gilbert would ever realize who he truly was, but there was certainly an indication that he was awakening.

After Gilbert gazed over Alexander’s birthmarks a little longer, Alexander pulled his arm from that man’s grasp. Then, he proceeded with picking his outfit up from the ground. “Please let me change.”

Thankfully, Gilbert walked out at his request, leaving the man alone. The slight excitement within Alexander seemed to leave with Gil, however. Feelings of heartache made their way back into Alexander, causing him to huff.

Sometimes reincarnation could be such a bitch.

As Alexander began tugging on his blouse, his usual incoherent mumbling returned.

“Things are perfect,” Alexander laughed as he fixed the sleeves on the shirt. “I have Laf and Laurens. I have George, Hercules, I have them all!” He almost yelled, causing his eyes to grow wide. The last thing he wanted was for Laf to tune in on his one-sided conversation. So, in a lower tone, he muttered, “I just need Eliza, and she’s right under my nose. Why can’t I have her?”

Alexander assumed it was the universe saying that Eliza was too good for him. He assumed it was the universe fucking him over for being such a shitty husband to such a wonderful woman.

All he wanted was redemption, but it seemed as if he would never get it.

Maybe someday, Alexander hoped. But maybe not.

By the time Alexander was completely dressed, he no longer felt like going. He’d rather brood and pen down depressing poems in an attempt to lift his mood. Knowing his friends, however, they wouldn’t let him do such a thing. So, he slipped his feet into some rather uncomfortable, but historically accurate boots and walked out.

The brooding, small man walked into the living room, finding not only Gilbert, but also John standing there. They were both dressed up in cheap costumes, making Alexander feel like the odd one out.

“At least I look authentic,” Alexander mumbled under his breath before approaching both men.

“Holy shit, Gil wasn’t kidding when he said that you made your clothes!” John boomed as soon as he faced Alexander. “Are you secretly a tailor or some shit? My God!”

Pride surged through Alexander, making the crushing heartache feel a little less painful. A smile faltered onto his face “Well, I did have a little help. Hercules fixed anything I butchered.”

“Well, you look great. Are you ready to go, colonel?” John beamed, gazing over Alexander’s outfit.

“General, actually. I’m a general,” Alexander quickly corrected John, trying his best to hide his annoyance. He knew John didn’t know any better, but sometimes he forgot that he was the only one that remembered.

“Okay, okay! Sheesh!” John laughed before making his way to the door. “Sorry to offend you, _general_.”

Alexander just huffed before following behind his two friends.

Hopefully, he’d actually enjoy the night and not worry about Eliza.

* * *

“How in God’s name are you going to carry the cake in with that dress?”

Ever since Eliza received the invitation to Mr. Robinson’s “Revolutionary Party”, she’d been giddy to prepare for it. She had the dress custom made with some of the money she’d been able to save and it was probably as historically accurate as she could get it to be. The woman was a sucker for anything of the type, but sadly her fiancé wasn’t.

He was painfully practical, so he was in nothing but an American flag shirt.

“I don’t think George would be too mad at me if I accidentally tripped and dropped it. He’s a family friend,” Eliza replied, fluffing out her dress after she hopped out of the passenger side of the car.

“You’re on a first-name basis with him?” Tench inquired, a brow cocked as he shut the door behind her after making sure her skirts wouldn’t catch in the door.

Eliza stared at Tench in disbelief. “Why does it matter?”

When Tench realized how it sounded, his umber eyes widened slightly. In a hopeful attempt of a smooth recovery, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist. “I didn’t realize it sound that way…”

She knew he didn’t mean it that way, but he always did it.

“I’m sorry, baby. I really am,” he continued, placing a kiss to her forehead. “Let’s go and unload this cake, yeah?”

Eliza let down her guard, like always, and muttered, “It’s fine.”

It happened every time. She didn’t know why. It wasn’t okay that he didn’t correct himself. That was just something she’d need to talk to him about later, but she wanted to have some fun. So, she headed towards the back of the car and opened the trunk.

“Eliza!”

A startled squeal emitted from Eliza’s plump lips the minute she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to the familiar man she only saw a couple of days before.

Again, when she looked into his eyes, she felt her heart pound.

“Hi… I thought you’d be here,” Eliza admitted, hoping she wasn’t blushing.

A helpless looking smile spread across the man’s face. He looked absolutely starstruck, only causing her cheeks to heat up further. She was surely blushing by now.

“Yeah… I didn’t expect you though. I thought you would’ve brought the cake earlier,” Alexander admitted. Then, his eyes scanned over her fit physique hidden behind period clothing. “I see you were ready to dress up.”

Eliza glanced down at her outfit and smiled slightly when she realized he had an eye for detail as well. What he was adorned in wasn’t some Halloween store bullshit. It was the real deal.

“I’m a sucker for costume parties,” she chuckled, running a hand through her hair before turning back towards the truck… and Tench.

The man didn’t look far too happy, considering Alexander’s hand was still on her shoulder. However, she didn’t let it bother her. She was allowed to have friends that were men.

So, she ignored him and gazed at the refrigerated cake.

Tench was right. She didn’t know how she was going to carry the cake in.

“I could… help,” Alexander spoke up, drawing in Eliza’s attention.

“Would you?” Eliza beckoned, placing a hand on top of his. “I mean, don’t feel obligated to, but—”

Alexander surely overstepped some boundaries when he grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to the top of it in a gentlemanly manner. “Of course, m’lady. You go in, prop the doors open.”

The blush that was subsiding from Eliza’s cheeks slowly returned. She knew that Tench was livid at their interaction, but back then, that was how men were. They kissed women out of a sign of respect.

“Thank you so much, Alexander. You’re an absolute angel,” she gushed before pulling away from him to head towards the venue.

Tench and Alexander were left alone.

While Alexander sported a cocky grin as he went to grab the cake, Tench stood there, fuming.

_No one_ touched his woman.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Tench asked as he aggressively pulled the cake towards the edge of the trunk.

The grin on Alexander’s face faded into a look of determination as soon as his eyes fell on Tench.

“What do you mean? I was only showing my respects to her.” Alexander didn’t want to play the clueless card, but he wasn’t doing anything wrong.

Tench looked ready to fight. His breaths were angry and rigid, a vein popping out the side of his neck. At his sides, his fists were balled. The man could easily take Alexander out.

“That is _my_ woman, she is my—”

“She is not anyone’s, sir,” Alexander corrected in a curt tone. “She is her own. You have no possession of her. She is not a pet, she is a lady. From what I gather, she is your fiancé. Treat her like a human, why don’t you?”

The defensive look on Tench’s face fell into a look of realization and he let out a groan. “Fuck.”

Tilghman was always a good man, Alexander remembered. He just so always had issues with women.

“I always do this,” the man continued as he went to grab one side of the cake’s platform. Alexander grabbed the other to help. “I try to not be so jealous and possessive. I love her. I really do. I’m just so bad at expressing it. It’s either too much or too little.”

Alexander didn’t want to egg on the relationship, simply because he was head over heels in love with the woman in discussion. However, he didn’t want to seem like a woman-stealing jackass.

“Can you not find the balance?”

“Nope. I cannot whatsoever. Trust me, I’ve tried. It never works,” he huffed as they began to trek for the back entry of the venue.

“Eliza isn’t too hard to please,” Alexander thought out loud under his breath.

“What?”

Alexander looked back up at the man and shook his head. “Nothing..”

Whilst carrying the cake to the back entry, all Alexander could think of was the ways he made Eliza happy. He would take her ice skating, kiss her on her temple before she retired each night. When she was pregnant, he would have one of their servants heat up water for her to soak her swollen feet in. Little things like that made her happy.

He wondered if Tench ever thought of that, but then again, he hadn’t been married to her for twenty-three years.

Alexander wondered if those little things still pleased her like they used to.

The two men successfully delivered the cake to the table a couple of minutes later, Alexander being left alone after Tench went to shut the trunk of the car.

However, he was only alone for a minute. Then, John stood by his side.

“I think I know who your lady friend is,” the man muttered, handing Alex a glass of champagne.

Alexander followed John’s path of vision until he reached its destination. Eliza was beside her father, talking with George. The only way Alexander could really tell it was Philip was by the way his daughter clung to him.

“Sure is,” Alexander confirmed before taking a sip of the champagne. “I’m in love with her.”

“Didn’t you first see her a couple of days ago? Didn’t you ramble about not knowing who you loved?”

“I was high,” Alexander lied. “Bad trip.”

“Mhm,” John hummed as he took a sip of his own drink.

Alexander was a _terrible_ liar.

“You know, I don’t know what you see in her,” John muttered, gazing over her. She was quite the beauty, but with the gigantic personality Alexander had, John was convinced his friend could do better.

“Everything. She is my everything,” Alexander crooned, a grin creeping up on his face when he saw her turn towards the table. He held up a hand to wave at her, but she didn’t wave back.

With their interaction earlier, he was sure she must’ve been looking at something else, so he turned around. Sure enough, her two sisters were behind them. He could tell it was Peggy and Angelica almost immediately. The three women always gave off quite a strong vibe.

However, he didn’t realize Eliza was adopted. She had to be. Her hair type, her pale skin..it didn’t match up with her family’s kinky hair and tanned skin.

That just gave Alexander more to learn about her, if she’d let him.

The two girls, adorned in just as exquisite dresses as Eliza, rushed over to their sister and father before a loud burst of chatter echoed through the filling venue.

“You know, I ran into her when she was heading towards Robinson… she said you introduced yourself as Alexander Hamilton.”

Alexander felt his cheeks burn.

How did John get that information out of her?

The only reason Alex even did it was because he wanted to know if it would rouse anything in her, but it seemed as if it didn’t.

“I was sick that day, John. You can't—”

“You are a nut sometimes, Alex,” John chuckled before gazing back at the girls.

There was a stiff silence between the two for a good two minutes until Alexander realized they were missing a friend.

“Where’s Gil?”

“He disappeared with Adri. They’re probably fucking in a broom closet or something,” John snorted before clearing his throat. His eyes caught on the woman heading their way. “Your girlfriend is coming.”

Alexander looked ahead and sure enough, Eliza was making her way to the cake.

Alexander was quick to smooth back his short hair and smiled when Eliza gazed at him. “Did I mess it up any?”

Eliza spared a smile at Alexander before glancing down at the cake. Everything looked to be in place, and she was thankful that the blue icing matching accordingly with Mr. Robinson’s general’s uniform.

“As far as I can tell, it’s perfect.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Alexander took another sip of his champagne.

“So, how long have you been with your guy?” Laurens decided to ask, causing both Alexander and Eliza’s eyes to widen.

It was a terribly bold question, but John will be John.

“Six years now,” Eliza replied after the initial shock, her eyes falling on Alexander. He was standing there, cheeks obviously flushed as he held eye contact with the floor. He used his fidgeting hand to fix his uniform. Then, he looked at her and spared her a reassuring smile.

“I'll… be back.”

He left for the bathroom with those words.

To fill the silence, John decided to speak up. He gazed at the lovely woman his dear Alexander was infatuated with and murmured, “I’m sorry about his behavior. He’s usually really suave. Something’s got him stuck in a rut though. He’s been acting weird for a couple of days now.”

Eliza glanced over her shoulder, her eyes following Alexander until he disappeared. Then, she turned back around. “Don’t apologize. He seems really lost.”

“He is.” John smiled slightly and offered her an arm. “Care to follow me to the dance floor?”

John wouldn’t have ever initiated a dance, but there were already people twirling around in their colonial garb. So, he didn’t think it was inappropriate. He simply sat his champagne glass aside.

Eliza smiled slightly at his invitation and decided that she might as well. It would’ve been fun to actually dance with someone who also enjoyed playing along with the theme of the party. Of course she’d dance with Tench later, but she wasn’t going to hesitate at dancing with other men.

That’s what ladies did at colonial balls. At least that’s what they did in her romance novels.

Once approaching the immense dance floor, John placed one hand on the small of Eliza’s back and used the other to grasp her tender hand in his. Then, the dance commenced.

As they swirled around the circle of the dance floor, John stared at her with intensity. He used his hazel eyes to decipher every one of her features, causing her to raise a brow at his harsh stare.

“Is… there something wrong?” She questioned, staring back at the man.

Snapping out of his daze, John’s eyes widened. He didn’t mean to be rude. He was simply taking notice of her beauty and was trying to figure out why Alexander was so in love with the girl he only met days before.

“I’m sorry. I was thinking.” He let out an awkward chuckle before his eyes caught on his best friend. Alexander was standing there, longingly staring at the girl in his arms. “Do you think you’d let Alexander cut in?”

Eliza glanced over her shoulder and smiled slightly at the strangely enthralling man. “Yeah. Of course.”  

With those words, John parted from her, but guided her to the man towards the edge of the dance floor. He abandoned the two shortly after, leaving them alone together.

Eliza went to place her hand on his shoulder to get in the proper dancing position, but Alexander’s flushed face and bleary eyes caught her off guard. “Were you crying?”

Alexander’s eyes darted to his love’s face. She shouldn’t have seen him so pathetic. However, after all they went through and only him remembering hurt like a bitch. They had children together. They lost children together. Alexander failed her, yet she still forgave him in the end. He remembered every last detail, while she forgot it all. Alexander didn’t understand why he had to remember everything. He didn’t understand why he was the only person he knew that remembered everything. It sucked, it absolutely blew.

All Alexander could do was play his part and hope that Eliza would remember someday. He didn’t know when someday would be, however. Would it be in a few days? A few years? A few lifetimes? Alexander was so tired of waiting, but that was what it was: a waiting game.

Alexander smiled at her after nodding. “Yes, please forgive me,” he soothed over, plucking her hand from her side. With a bow, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles and gazed back up at her. “Care to dance, Betsey?”

Only Eliza’s father called her Betsey, which she found quite amusing. However, she liked how he said it; it rolled off of his tongue quite nicely.

“Surely, Alexander.”

In one swift motion, Alexander placed a hand on the small of her back and grasped onto her hand before they took off into a swirl of dancing.

It had been just like the night he realized that he wanted to marry her. Back in those days, marriage was in a matter of months. He knew he wouldn’t be able to woo her so quickly, especially since she had a fiancé. Alexander shouldn’t have been trying to enchant her at all, but he was tired of chasing. She was right there, and if he could win her affections, he was going to. He loved her too much to let go again.

While they danced, they made small talk. But slowly, the conversation fell into something deeper. They were speaking from their souls, which was rather enlightening for Eliza. She felt as if she surely met him once before, and that she knew him truly. She just didn’t know when.

The two danced into the wee hours of the morning, their feet sore and their voices hoarse from speaking so much. It was perfect for Alexander, and he felt like she understood him on a more personal level.

However, as Eliza rested her head on Alexander’s shoulder as their dancing slowed, she realized that what she was doing was wrong. She wasn’t looking for love. She had love. She had Tench.

Earlier that night, Alexander proposed a day where Eliza and his friend, John could go ice skating. She knew it was an innocent outing, but she had to stop herself.

“Alexander?” Eliza gingerly spoke, causing the slightly taller man to glance down at the woman that was once his.

“Yes, my dear?” Alexander cooed. He noticed something in her eyes that made him a bit nervous. Was it regret? Dissatisfaction?

Eliza sat up straight, lifting her head from his shoulder. After brushing a few strands of stray hair out of her eyes, they met up with Alexander’s. “I was wondering that if maybe we could make the ice skating outing a double date? I think Peggy might enjoy your company,” Eliza suggested.

The light in Alexander’s eyes distinguished. He should’ve expected that. She was an engaged woman. He shouldn’t have expected anything more.

Yet, he spared her a smile. “Yes, of course. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

Her happiness was what was most important, Alexander reminded himself. As long as she was happy.  

A smile formed on Eliza’s face. She was glad that he didn’t pitch a fit. Some people would’ve.

“Oh, thank you.” Eliza let out an airy, yet tired giggle before her eyes fell on someone off of the dance floor. Tench was standing there, waving his keys in the air. She knew it was her time to go.

Alexander gazed over her shoulder as well, and sure enough, he found her fiancé impatiently waiting. So, he turned towards her and smiled. “Thank you so much for the dance, miss Betsey. I am counting the minutes until we reunite.” As Alexander split from her, he kept her hand in his and again, pressed his lips to her knuckles out of respect… and affection. But Tench and Eliza didn’t need to know that.

Alexander’s beguiling charm caused Eliza’s cheeks to heat up. However, she dismissed it and curtsied. “Thank you, for giving me a good time, Alexander. You are quite swift on your feet.”

Eliza didn’t know it, but that was a rather big compliment.

Eventually, he had to let go of her hand and allowed her to limp her way to her fiancé.

When Eliza’s feet hurt, Alexander always rubbed them, soaked them in warm water.

Tench better have done the same.

If Eliza wasn’t going to be with Alexander, Tench better have made her happy.


	5. Chapter 5

The ride home was completely silent. Eliza was too lost in her head, thinking about the charming stranger she waltzed with all night. As much as she wanted to pull her attention away from his graceful movements and beautiful smile, she couldn’t. She tried so hard to think of the relationship, the absolutely wonderful relationship she had with Tench. It was near impossible. **  
**

It was a good night, Eliza supposed. She had fun with her dance partner, at least. Apparently, the cake was great and the food was amazing. She hadn’t eaten either, and neither had Alexander. They were too busy being lost in their own little world.

When the car came to a halt, Eliza turned to Tench and smiled at him the minute he glanced over.

“I invited Alex on a double date. I hope you don’t mind. He’s supposed to take Peggy,” Eliza informed him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before going to get out. Tench, however, stopped her by grasping onto her wrist.

“Alex? You’re calling a stranger by his nickname?” Tench questioned in a surprisingly silky-smooth tone. Usually, he would’ve been much more defensive.

Eliza appreciated his tone.

“Yeah. I got to know him a lot better. I think you’d like him. He’s actually really interesting,” Eliza mused as she pulled her hand from his grasp. Like before, she reached for the door and was able to climb out without Tench attempting to pull her back in.

As Eliza walked to the door, she couldn’t help but sigh. She felt something in her heart that she didn’t quite feel with Tench anymore. It was a feeling of excitement, a rush of energy. It was like how their young love was, shy, quick, quiet.

“You’re going crazy,” Eliza muttered under her breath before approaching the front door.

The minute she opened the door, the expected sound of barking and scrambling for the door echoed through the small apartment. That pulled her from her mind, thankfully. She didn’t want to think about him anymore.

“Hello, my babies!” Eliza cooed as she struggled to tug her dress through the front door. It was so incredibly fluffy, making it difficult to walk through small doorways.

The smallest of the two dogs pounced on her dress, wanting to be picked up.

“Oh, Ange. You know that you’re not supposed to do that,” Eliza tutted, picking the girl up in her arms. She placed a kiss right behind the terrier’s ear before glancing down at the other dog: Pip. He was the older of the two, being around eight years old.

Pip wasn’t as excitable as his younger sister, but he used to be. That caused Eliza to worry slightly, but Tench assured he was fine. He did seem pretty healthy otherwise.

As Eliza made her way farther into the house, she meandered her way up to the cage of mice.

The mice were now mainly babies of the mice she caught in the shitty apartment a few years prior, but there was one that was still alive.

Well, it was alive when she left earlier that day.

“Oh no… Gus Gus,” Eliza whispered, her eyes watering at the sight of the dead mouse.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Tench asked the moment he walked into the living area. When he got a closer look, he found the eldest of Eliza’s mice laying there, dead.

He was going to let them go secretly, but with how Eliza reacted to the small rodent’s death, he decided that it probably wouldn’t have been such a good idea.

“Y-you did this, didn’t you?” Eliza whimpered, desperately trying to keep herself from crying. It felt foolish to cry over an animal such as a mouse, but she’d grown very closely attached to her babies.

Blaming Tench was not something Eliza really wanted to do, but after their heated argument about their animals the other night, she really wasn’t too sure. It also might’ve been her subconscious trying to pick out his faults, making him worse than he was.

“Eliza, of course not!” Tench spoke with an edge to his voice. “Why would I kill your animal? Why would I kill an animal?!”

“I don’t know!” Eliza cried back, hugging Ange a little closer to her prominent chest. “You don’t like my pets… he was running on his wheel earlier..”

Tench huffed before looking back at the cage. “I would never kill an animal, Eliza. You should know that.”

And she did. It was just very late and she wasn’t a night person.

All she needed was sleep.

“I’m…sorry,” Eliza promptly apologized, using her free hand to grab at his. “I’m a little crabby. I’m going to go to bed, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll clean up the mouse… just get some sleep, okay? Early morning. We’re going ice skating, right?” With a gentle squeeze, Tench brought her hand to his lips and began to press kisses to the top of it like Alexander had earlier.

“That’s in a few days, Tench… Sunday. Now, I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” She placed a quick peck on his lips before heading to the bedroom.

The minute Eliza closed their bedroom door, she let out a sigh of relief. She was happy to be able to finally get comfortable after a wonderful night of dancing. Her feet were sore and the corset that was cinching her waist was becoming unbearable.

She was quick to unbutton the back of the dress and hastily let it fall to her feet, leaving her in the pannier hoop skirt and the corset that was oh so terribly hard to breathe in.

They both came off in a matter of minutes and were soon shoved in the small closet of Eliza’s. Instead of immediately dressing in some pajamas, however, she walked into her bathroom after fetching her phone and a piece of paper she had tucked in her bosom.

Once approaching the bathroom, she switched the light on and let out a huff at the sight of her half naked body, especially around her stomach.

Eliza managed to have the strangest looking birthmarks on her stomach and hips, almost resembling stretch marks. She’d never been heavy, and they’d been there as long as she remembered.

Running a hand over her flat stomach, she gave her body a look of disapproval before grabbing for her phone and the piece of paper on the counter.

While they were still dancing, Alexander had requested that Eliza texted him as soon as she got home that night just so he made sure she got home safely. The man’s deep care for her was absolutely flattering.

He was going to give her his number, but Eliza mentioned that she had the order ticket for George’s cake on her and that it was unnecessary, and he trusted her.

If it was Tench in his shoes, he would’ve made sure. Alexander trusted her.

After typing the number in, she noticed that he wrote that his name as Madea, not Hamilton. So, she decided to ask.

_Madea?_

She sent the text without hesitation before getting ready for the night.

By the time she was finished, Tench was finally in their room, getting ready for bed as well. All he had to do with strip down and lay in bed. Eliza, on the other hand, had to clean her nose piercing, wash her face to rid of all makeup, and a number of other rituals she did each night.

She envied the simplicity or Tench’s routine, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do.

Before she walked back into the bedroom, she glanced down at her phone and smiled at the text.

_Walker?_

He remembered her last name.

_Why did you say you were Alexander Hamilton?_

She turned her phone off before walking into the bedroom.

When Tench caught sight of his fiancé, a smirk formed on his handsome, full lips.

She already knew what he was thinking, and maybe doing just that would help her get her mind off of the charming Puerto Rican that was flooding her senses.

So, before she climbed into bed, she shot another text in Alexander’s direction.

_If I fall asleep, I’m sorry! I’m really tired. Have a good night, Alexander!_

Once powering off her phone, she climbed into bed with Tench, hoping she would be satisfied with what was going to happen.

* * *

_If I fall asleep, I’m sorry! I’m really tired. Have a good night, Alexander!_

A small pout formed on Alexander’s face at the hasty second text, but she needed her sleep. He didn’t want to keep her any longer, so he replied.

_Get some sleep! Have a goodnight._

He would’ve put a heart emoticon, but he didn’t want to freak her out.

“You don’t look too happy,” John drunkenly noted as he stumbled into their living room. He plopped right down on Gilbert’s lap and patted the man’s cheek before glancing back over at Alexander. “Did your lady friend go night night?”

“Yep,” Alexander sighed, setting his phone aside. Whilst leaning back on the couch, he placed his feet in John’s lap. “But I’m not gonna bother her because she needs her sleep.”

“Why do you like her so much?” Gil suddenly asked, pushing the drunk man-child off of his lap. “She is beautiful, but you act as if you’ve known her your whole life. Did you not meet a couple of days ago?”

_Oh, if they only knew_ , Alexander thought.

“I’ve known her for a very long time,” Alexander ominously clarified. “But I finally met her again a few days ago.”

“What does that fucking mean?” John cackled, causing Alexander to jump slightly.

He hated it when people shouted unless he was the person shouting.

“It’s beyond your comprehension, John. I—”

“Are you calling stupid?” John asked lowly as he knelt down near Alexander’s head.

Turning to face his friend, Alexander replied. “No. I’m just saying that if I told you, you’d think I was absolutely insane. So, it’s beyond your thought process.”

John huffed in Alexander’s face before glancing over at Gil. He was observing the two with wide eyes.

“You think he’s calling me stupid, Gil?”

The man hated to be dragged in the middle of things, but since he was pulled into it, he had to reply.

“I think he’s saying that you wouldn’t be able to fully understand what he would tell you, and he doesn’t know how to put it into simpler terms.” Shrugging, Gilbert’s eyes fell back to the telenovela.

“Would Gil understand you?” John continued to press, causing Alexander to groan.

So. Many. Questions.

“Can we please stop talking about this and just watch the fucking show? I’m trying to hold my tongue here and you know how hard that is for me,” Alexander finally griped, sitting up from the position he was in. “Plus, you’re drunk. You'd… forget everything that I’d tell you.”

Maybe it _was_ a good time to talk about it with John.

Alexander knew that if he wanted to tell them, both John and Gilbert would need to be drunk. As far as Alexander knew, Gil was getting head from his girlfriend in a closet because he didn’t see him all night and John managed to scale down an entire bottle of whiskey throughout the night.

Glancing over at Gil, Alexander noticed that the man was too enthralled with whatever was going on in the episode to notice anything else. Because of that, Alexander decided that it would be the best time to sneak off and talk to John.

The minute Alexander stood up, John went to question him. However, Alexander was quick to hush him before dragging the drunk man to his room.

As he closed the door, John drunkenly plopped down on the bed in the room and glanced over at his friend. “Watcha want to tell me?”

Getting everything off of his chest was going to feel amazing. Alexander turned to face John and smiled at him before taking a seat. “Do you believe in reincarnation?”

John shrugged, leaning back on the bed.

After rolling his eyes, Alexander continued. “Well, I know it’s real. It’s real and it’s been keeping me away from Eliza.”

“Man, you crazy!” John laughed, nudging Alexander’s leg. “Fucking crazy!”

“Do you want to know what I’m going to tell you or not?” Alexander yelped, staring back at his friend. He knew it was going to be a one-sided conversation by how drunk John was, but the drunken inputs weren’t helping.

John looked up at Alexander and let out a brief chuckle before closing his eyes. “Tell me.”

“I’m Alexander Hamilton. You’re John Laurens. Gilbert is the Marquis de Lafayette. George is Washington, Eliza is my wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.” The admittance was like a stone was rolled off his chest, but John began to cackle again. So, Alexander looked over at his friend and slapped his arm.

“Sorry, _what_?” John continued to laugh.

“You heard me,” Alexander muttered before laying down next to his friend. After placing his hands behind his head, he continued. “I’ve remembered all of my lifetimes. However, the one I’ve clung to was my first. I did Eliza so wrong, John. So, so wrong. She blamed herself for it, surely. She begged me not to duel. I did it so much. She begged me to stay alive and I died holding onto her. Right before I died, I swore I’d make it up to her. I died though. But then… each I came to the age of reason, I’d remember that I reincarnated. I was born again. Different name, different status. It was all so confusing at first. But I kept reincarnating. I kept living different lives, and they were dedicated to finding her. I couldn’t find her until now.”

Alexander didn’t realize he was crying until John reached over to brush tears off of his face.

“Certain events haunt me, even today. Thunderstorms scare the shit out of me—”

“I know.”

“Loud noises make me want to hide, and when people attack me, I go into defense mode—”

“I remember the time you nearly sent me to the hospital ‘cuz of that.”

“Anytime someone cheats, I want to _kill_ them.” Alexander chuckled bitterly. “I’m so stupid.”

As Alexander slowly became enveloped in his thoughts, John propped himself up slightly and slurred, “You really think you’re Alexander Hamilton, huh?”

“I know I am. And I know that I wish I didn’t remember that I was. I wouldn’t be so upset all of the time. I wouldn’t be trying to win Eliza over. I wouldn’t try to get Tench to fuck off. I would be much happier. It’s almost like she owns me, though. Eliza. She owns my heart and I want to love her the way she deserves to be loved.” Sitting up, Alexander turned to John. “I want to show you something.”

John cocked a brow as an intoxicated smile spread across his face. “Oh?”

“Do you know where Alexander Hamilton was shot?”

A confused look scrunched up on John’s features at the question. “Why does it matter?”

Alexander let out a moan. “Just look it up.”

After a few minutes, John let out a “humph”.

“Ah, in the ribs right above the right hip bone?” John guessed after gazing at a few pages.

“Bingo.” With that, Alexander pulled his shirt up, pointing to a scar left from the fatal wound.

John was left speechless.

A small smile of victory appeared on Alexander’s face as he tugged the shirt back down and sat next to his friend. “How many of those do you have in your chest?”

Again, John just stared at Alexander in sheer shock.

A deep chuckle rumbled through Alexander’s chest before he laid back.

Silence crept into the room as John thought. It was hard to process information like that, especially when drunk. He was also sure his pounding hangover the next day would make it hard to remember. But at that moment, he tried his best to absorb the information.

Eventually, John answered Alexander. “Ten.”

“I wish you’d remember this tomorrow,” Alexander sighed, wrapping his arm around John as the bloke leaned back. In response, the man nuzzled his head into the crook of Alexander’s neck.

They’d always been extremely close. Alexander was just so glad he found him this time around, he’d only found Lafayette in his past few lifetimes, and even then, they weren’t the same age until this last reincarnation.

“Why wouldn’t I?” John sleepily mumbled, burying his face in Alexander’s neck. “Is it ‘cuz I’m drunk?”

“Precisely,” Alexander breathed as he began to stroke John’s hair. “That’s the exact reason.”

Alexander spent the next few moment laying there, allowing John to fall asleep on him. He wished that he would’ve remembered giving John some Advil before he fell asleep, but he wasn’t about to wake up the beast. Instead, he gently nudged John into a proper position, covered him with the duvet, and made his way out of the bedroom.

It felt great to finally tell someone about his multiple reincarnations.

“Did you put him down?”

Alexander’s eyes flickered towards Gil, finding that he’d turned the TV off. The large man’s eyes were weighing heavy and he pulled his hair down from its ponytail holder. He looked about ready to turn in.

“You sound like a parent when you say that,” Alexander chuckled. He was going to take a seat next to Gilbert, but instead, he began to fluff up his friend’s incredibly curly hair.

“Sometimes I feel like I am the parent and I’m the youngest one here,” Gilbert admitted with a brief laugh, letting his head tilt back into Alexander’s touch. “Did you give him any medicine?”

“Didn’t get the chance, but I’ll give him some tomorrow,” Alexander hummed as he began separating each of his chunky curls into several smaller ones. “How was your night, by the way?”

Gilbert froze at the question, causing Alexander’s eyes to divert to the top of the man’s head.

“What—”

“Je vais devoir sortir bientôt,” Gilbert stammered.

“Wait, what. Why?” Alexander gulped.

Gilbert? Moving out?

Neither man had the money to be on their own in New York City and Gilbert only spoke in French when he had to tell someone something he didn’t quite want to say.

“Uh..sit down.”

Alexander did. 

The look on Mercier’s face caused Alexander to squirm slightly in his seat. He looked distressed and excited at the same time. His brows were knotted together as he tried to form a coherent sentence.

Eventually, he spewed. “Adrienne et moi avons fait un bébé.”

Alexander’s eyes widened at the news. John _swore_ that they were off, fucking each other “or something”.

They were talking about a baby?

“Do you not use condoms in France?” Alexander groaned, facepalming.

He could not believe that Gilbert Mercier, one of the most responsible people he knew, knocked up his girlfriend.

“Let’s not talk about that though,” Gil spoke urgently, nudging Alexander slightly. “Tell me about the night you spent with ton amour.”

A smile crept its way onto Alexander’s face.

It was a great night, maybe one of the best he’d had in his current lifetime.

“We danced all night, talked all night… it was a lot of small talk, but then something clicked in her. We started talking like we knew each other for the longest time.” Because of that, Alexander had some hope in a possible relationship, but he could never be too sure and that scared him. “I love her so much, Gil. You don’t even know.”

The man next to him clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m sure you do.”

“Oh! And I’m supposed to be going on a double date with her!” Alexander chuckled, continuing on his spiel. “I mean, I’m taking her sister. I’m getting her number sometime soon. But I think we’ll probably end up talking and—”

“Alex… you can’t just take people’s fiancées,” Gil tried to reason.

Alexander didn’t care.

“Well… who knows. Maybe she’ll fall for my charm.”

After stretching out, Alexander stood up and began to head for his bedroom. “Goodnight.”

“Bonne nuit, Alexander.”

That night, as Alexander got comfortable in his bed, he felt something move within him that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

For a while, Alexander was so in love with the idea of Eliza. He began to wonder if he was trying in love with her or the idea of having her.

Seeing her for that first time, however, reminded him of how much he truly loved her. Through his lifetimes, the only person he loved was her.

However, with each lifetime, the both of them changed in different ways. They picked up different hobbies, different interests.

Alexander realized that because of all of the changes they’d endured, he was going to have to fall in love with her all over again.

It would be an easy task, considering that he knew her core. It would simply take time and it was time he was willing to spend.

Alexander went to sleep that night, content.

It was the first time he was truly content in over one hundred years.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a quiet morning in the library the day Eliza met Tench. She was studying for something she had no interest in practicing, but she did it for her grandmother, who believed she would do wonderful things in the medical field. **  
**

At two, maybe three, Eliza’d begun to doze off and was unable to keep her head held up for more than ten seconds before it began to bob again. She knew that she should’ve just gone home and gone to sleep before the dreaded midterm. However, her interests had fallen elsewhere and the profession of baking began to entice the twenty-year-old. The only problem was, it was hard for her to get out of the course she was in. She’d already learned so much about the anatomy of the human body, the chemistry, the biology. If she’d quit, she’d probably disappoint so many people and that was the last thing she wanted to do. As much as she hated to admit it, she oftentimes worried what people thought of her. It wasn’t crippling, by any means. But it was a nuisance.

Eliza had finally fallen asleep, only to be woken up about an hour later.

When Eliza first saw him, she knew it was love at first sight. The determined college student almost always instantly knew what she wanted, and that included men.

Tench was her first and only boyfriend. She wasn’t a frump or a prude by any means. She’d just never found someone that had piqued her interest like Tench had.

Their love was rapid, strong, something that people envied. Tench loved Eliza with all of his heart and Eliza was head over heels for her South African knight in shining armor.

As time went on, things had sadly begun to change. After the honeymoon phase, they grew comfortable with each other and it was nice. The need to wear makeup disappeared and she felt like she was beautiful around him, despite the fact that she knew she looked like a hot mess every once in awhile.

Around their sixth year of dating, after they’d gotten engaged, they began to fight. They weren’t screaming matches by any means, but Tench began to act rather possessive and controlling.

To make up for his attitude, Tench would buy her things. As a matter of fact, he bought the bakery for her after their first fight.

That wasn’t where it stopped, though. He’d always attempt to put an expensive band-aid over a wound that only healed with love.

Eliza knew it could’ve been fixed easily, but someone new came into her life in quite the interesting way.

The thought of the man caused her heart to leap in ways thoughts of Tench couldn’t and the very mention of his name caused her cheeks to flush. It was absolutely terrible, and she was trying to keep it platonic. The only problem was that there was a draw to him. It felt as if it was fate, but she loved Tench. They were _engaged_.

Just the thought of Alexander made her anxious and giddy at the same time. It was almost time for her their double date and Eliza was probably a little too exuberant to see Alexander for Tench’s liking.

He’d noticed that she’d put on a little more lipstick than she usually did, and had put on her favorite perfume. It was a rare occurrence that she ever did that anymore, and it was riling Tench up slightly.

“You look fucking hot,” Tench cursed as he made his way into their bathroom. He wrapped each of his muscular arms around her waist and began to place kisses on the base of her neck.

“I’m gonna be cold if you don’t let me put on my shirt,” Eliza muttered as she placed her mascara back in its appropriate box. She was still as easily able to playfully snark back at Tench, thankfully.

Tench hummed against the skin of her back, right over her tattoo. “Maybe we should abandon them. After all, they don’t really need us, do they?”

The thought of not seeing Alexander was not a pleasing one, causing her to hastily shake her head. “That would be rude. We promised.”

“People break promises all the time,” the man continued, his hands finding their way to her hips.

Eliza let out a huff. Again, he was being a bit controlling. “I’ll go by myself—”

“Fine,” Tench groaned, turning her around in his grasp. As he gazed over her, a smile overtook his face and he dipped in for a kiss.

Eliza kissed back, pressing a hand to his scruffy cheek before pulling away from his plump lips. “You get so jealous, baby…”

Rightfully so, considering that there was something about someone planted in Eliza’s mind.

“I get scared,” Tench admitted, pulling her a bit closer to his body. “He’s a gentleman, baby… And I try. Sometimes, I just don’t feel good enough for you.”

That wasn’t the case at all. Tench was a very nice guy. Sometimes, things just ran their course. However, Eliza wanted to try to fix it.

As much as she was intrigued by Alexander, she belonged to Tench.

“Don’t get jealous, Tench. I love you. I always will,” she assured, tugging at his collar slightly to fix it. Once it was straightened to her liking, she glanced back up into his handsome eyes and asked, “Are you ready to go? After I put my shirt on, of course.”

Her fiancé playfully rolled his eyes before plastering a smile on his face. “You go do that then we’ll go.”

As Tench and Eliza finished getting ready, Peggy and Alexander sat at a little table at the Starbucks in the Rockefeller Center.

While Alexander got a rather strong brew of coffee, Peggy was content with a cup of hot chocolate.

There hadn’t been much discussion between the two. Alexander didn’t have much to say to his date. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to admit that he only went on the date so he could be closer to Eliza? That was something he needed to avoid saying. Peggy was a sweet, very sweet girl. He just never thought of her in that way. It was always Eliza.

“You danced with her all night on Friday,” Peggy spoke up first, tucking one of her short curls behind her ear.

“With Eliza?” Alexander inquired, taking a swig of his coffee. After swishing it around his mouth slightly, he swallowed and nodded at her statement.

He had to restrain himself from smiling. He was fond of the memories they were making.

“I don’t think she’s known you. You two act like you’re old friends though,” Peggy noted further, propping her elbows on the table so she could more easily rest her chin on her knuckles.

Alexander wished he could tell her the truth, but she would’ve thought he was insane. He couldn’t. He mustn’t.

“We’re kindred spirits,” Alexander replied, his eyes falling to his pocket since his phone had vibrated. After retrieving it, he smiled at the text.

_On our way._

“You know that she has a fiancé, right?” Peggy nearly stammered, hoping that she hadn’t sounded too rude.

Alexander understood where she was coming from, thankfully. His motives weren’t to make Eliza cheat. No one ended up happy that way.

Peggy was simply playing the protective sister role.

“I am aware,” Alexander replied with a smile. Placing a hand on top of hers, he gently squeezed it before glancing back down at his phone since it vibrated again.

“I’m sorry if I sounded rude… it’s just that I’ve seen how you look at her and you look so… in love. Not infatuated, not pleased.” Peggy shook her head before her brown eyes made eye contact with Alexander’s. “I’m sure that you’ve never seen each other before… You act like you know her so well though.”

As Peggy talked, Alexander realized that he sounded like a stalker.

That gave him chills.

“How about we stop talking about Eliza and talk about ourselves,” Alex suddenly proposed, wanting to digress from the conversation. “You are my date.”

“I know…” Peggy was just so interested in his interest of Eliza. She guessed she could drop it. “So, where do you come from? You’re definitely not from New York.”

Alexander _hated_ that question.

“I’m Puerto Rican but I was raised in Nevis,” he answered in short, not really wanting to get into any more detail. His current lifetime nearly paralleled his lifetime as Alexander Hamilton. It wasn’t nearly as bad: the island wasn’t packed with slaves and illegitimacy wasn’t a crime. However, his mother’s first husband was immensely abusive and his dad left when he was only ten.

The fact that history repeated itself so easily was disturbing.

“Did you have family up here and that’s why you—”

“I’m an orphan,” Alexander admitted with a sad smile. “I don’t really enjoy talking about my childhood. I would enlighten you, but it was a dark time for me.”

Peggy nodded. He spoke with complete sincerity, so she believed him. Instead of asking him any other questions, she grasped onto her Starbucks cup, leaned back, and began to flick through her phone.

Alexander felt somewhat shitty, considering that Peggy probably felt a bit upset. He would’ve been if he was on a double date and the person wasn’t interested in him. He hoped that she was simply unattracted to him as he was to her.

By the time Eliza and Tench showed up, Alexander and Peggy were completely out of tune with each other. It caused Eliza to frown. She thought that they would’ve been great friends, at least. However, they seemed entirely disengaged.

As Eliza made closer proximity, Alexander glanced up and grinned at the sight of her. The man stood up almost immediately, pushing the chair back in as she only inched closer.

“Good day, m’lady,” Alexander murmured, hastily grabbing her hand so he could place a kiss to her knuckles. Once doing so, he went to let go of her hand. However, she hesitated to let go, causing a lump to form in his throat. Surely, he was going red in the face and so was she.

Dropping his hand from her grasp, Eliza murmured, “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to, I– uh…”

“Hey, sis,” Peggy suddenly spoke up, causing both Alexander and Eliza to glance over at her. There was a suspicious look in her eye, but she stayed silent. Not wanting to make a scene, she stood up and hugged her sister before glancing over the elder’s shoulder. Tench was making his way towards them.

“Hey, Pegs,” Eliza murmured, hoping that Tench would take the flush on her cheeks as wind burn instead of flattery.

“Hey, Peggy, Alexander,” Tench spoke up as soon as he reached the others. He brushed some locs over his shoulder before holding a hand out for Alexander to shake.

That was how men greeted each other, and they hadn’t been doing that.

After a firm handshake, Alexander gazed over his group before muttering, “Shall we make our way to the skating rink?”

“Might as well,” Peggy spoke in agreement before grabbing her purse. Then, she took the empty cups and went to throw them away.

Eliza was going to walk with Alexander and talk, but as she went to stand by his side, Tench wrapped an arm around Eliza and tugged her a little closer. She knew what he was doing and was going to fight it, but Alexander gave her a reassuring smile as soon as they caught glances. It was tempting to simply stay with Tench and allow him to control her. It would’ve been easier that way.

That wasn’t what she did, however. Instead, she drew herself from Tench’s side and stood by Alexander.

“You didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to.” Eliza spared a smile before looking ahead. Tench looked distressed, but he would need to get over it. If Eliza wanted to talk to her friend, he wasn’t going to stop her.

“So, how was your weekend?” Alexander asked, shoving his hands in his pockets to resist the urge of holding her hand.

“Well, my pet mouse died, but otherwise, I just hung out around the house when I wasn’t working,” Eliza informed him, avoiding the details of what she did with Tench.

Most of the weekend, she was in bed with him, trying to get the man at her side out of her mind.

As much as she wanted it to, it didn’t happen.

“My condolences about the mouse,” Alexander spoke lowly. He went to pat her hand, but he held himself back from doing so.

It was entirely inappropriate. He wasn’t going to be a homewrecker. Not again.

There was a period of blissful silence between the two as they made their way to the rink. Once they laced up, however, the conversation continued.

“You know, you never answered my question,” Eliza noted, leaning against Tench as he pulled on his left skate.

“Which one?” Alexander inquired. The two of them were already finished and were simply waiting on their dates.

“Why you called yourself Alexander Hamilton when you’re Alexander Madea.” Eliza let out a giggle, resting her hand on the metal bench seat.

Alexander wanted to explain that he was attempting to rouse any sort of memory of their life together in her, but he couldn’t. She wouldn’t understand.

“He’s my favorite founding father and some people say I resemble him, personality wise.” Alexander shrugged slightly as if it were nothing, running his fingers through his dark hair before standing up. He offered a hand to help her up, but Tench was quick to his feet and nearly caused Eliza to topple over since she was leaning on him so dependently.

“Sorry, babe,” Tench chuckled, holding a hand out as well.

Eliza grabbed both of their hands and hoisted herself up instead of picking who to help her. Hopefully, it wouldn’t make Alexander feel rejected and would keep Tench from being so jealous.

Alexander was going to take Eliza on his arm, but he decided that he should’ve actually acknowledged his date. So, he made his way up to her and held an arm out for her instead.

“Have you ice skated before?” Alexander asked as Peggy linked her arm with his.

She smiled at the question, nodding in response. “My daddy always took us. Then he messed up his foot, so he couldn’t anymore.”

“Did you not continue going?”

Helping Peggy onto the ice, his eyes couldn’t help but wonder over to Eliza and Tench. He looked like he could skate, but did he have the skills Alexander had?

One of Alexander’s vices was that he was a terrible showboat. He tried to restrain himself, but he always ended up trying to outdo his mental competitor.

Instead of staying by Peggy’s side, he began to glide around the ice with ease.

The only reason he knew how to skate was because of Eliza, and skills such as seemed to stick in each lifetime.

As Alexander circled around Eliza and Tench, his eyes fell on his beauty. A smirk involuntarily graced his lips when he noticed how impressed Eliza looked. So, just to prove his level of expertise, he skated towards Eliza at a fast pace and stopped right before he could body slam into her.

She flinched slightly, but let out a melodic giggle when she realized that he wouldn’t run right into her. “You’re really good.”

“Yeah, I managed to pick it up quite easily..”

“Who taught you?” She continued, not even realizing that she stopped ice skating.

“You–landa.” A flush covered Alexander’s naturally tanned skin, hoping that she believed his coverup. “Some lady I knew back in Nevis.”

Instead of questioning him—after all, where could’ve he ice skated in Nevis—Eliza simply nodded and went to grab back onto Tench’s hand. However, he left her side while she was talking with Alexander.

It took a couple of minutes to spot him, but once she did, she huffed.

He was off skating with Peggy, looking like he was rather heated.

“He gets jealous very easily as of late,” Eliza muttered, linking her arm with Alexander’s unexpectedly. They continued to skate, taking it slow so they’d be able to talk more easily.

“You’re loyal to him, I don’t see why,” Alexander responded, using his free hand to pat her shoulder in false comfort.

“Yeah, I guess.” Eliza fell silent, allowing the two to skate side by side for a bit. Eventually, however, she began to grown curious.

That night on the dance floor, they only talked about her, her past, her interests. She desperately tried to pry into his life, but he always digressed, made it into something about her.

“What was Nevis like?”

It was an innocent question, and pretty broad. She wasn’t sure if he was avoiding the questions due to trauma, but she hoped that the broad question would be answered with ease.

Alexander simply didn’t know how to answer. Did he start with his childhood, or did he just give her an insight of the beautiful island?

Deciding to disregard his childhood, Alexander looked over at the lovely lady on his arm and smiled.

“Well, it’s beautiful,” Alexander started, pulling Eliza a little closer when a speed skater nearly ran into her. “It’s not too busy like other islands down there, thankfully. However, the income from tourists that provides money for the island is lacking, leaving all of the local shops almost bankrupt. I’m rather good with numbers and I’ve attempted to help.” The man shook his head. “No one takes a seventeen-year-old seriously.”

Eliza could see where Alexander was coming from when he said that he resembled Alexander Hamilton. She didn’t know far too much about the man, but she did know that he was the first secretary-treasury of the United States. That was simple information anyone learned of they went to school in America.

“So you’d say that you’re well versed in economics?”

If she only knew.

“I… uh, I guess?”

Alexander would say more about economics, but the country’s financial state was shit and with Donald Trump spending America’s money all on shit she didn’t need, he didn’t want to overheat himself. He was never too pleasant when he was on the edge of his seat.

 _If only they stuck with my plan_ , Alexander thought bitterly.

Even then, his plan might’ve not still worked with the way America developed. The economy was a mess, and maybe he’d be able to fix it as soon as Donald Trump and his whole cabinet got impeached.

He wasn’t going to work with those assholes.

“Earth to Alexander!” Eliza suddenly called, pulling Alexander from his brooding session. He gazed back down at the woman attached to his arm, not noticing that he was about to smack into a wall.

In an attempt to keep him from doing so, Eliza tried to jerk him away. It was apparent that she used a little too much strength because he ended up falling, only pulling her down on top of him.

For a minute, Alexander went back to that day in early 1780.

Eliza had invited the man to ice skate on a pond in the late days of winter before the ice thawed. Alexander had only ice skated once before, but after spraining an ankle, he was afraid to do it again. However, he would do anything for Eliza.

He managed to get on the ice and Eliza helped him, but after slipping, he pulled Eliza down with him, their bodies pressed together in a sinfully intimate way at the time.

The parallelism Alexander was experiencing astounded him, but it might’ve been a sign.

Was it a sign?

Alexander let out a breathy chuckle once he snapped out of his daze. He was still laying on the ice, and Eliza was still atop of him. The look she gave him was one of pure fascination, causing his cheeks to heat up.

She looked as beautiful as she did that day on the pond in 1780, just in a different way.

He could just kiss her.

“Are you okay?” Alexander muttered, running a hand through her hair out of nothing but sheer instinct.

Eliza batted her eyes, cheeks heating up. She would move, but he was like a magnet. No matter how much she wanted to pull herself away, she couldn’t. Despite that, she was able to sit up. Alexander did as well but wasn’t hasty to stand up.

“I… uh. I think I—”

Alexander cut Eliza off the minute he pressed his thin lips to her thicker ones.

When Alexander realized what he did, he instantly pulled away.

That’s not what he wanted to do.

Being a homewrecker was not who he was anymore.

“I need to go,” Alexander spoke breathlessly, his voice nearly giving out on him as he found his way to his feet.

Eliza was speechless, but she managed to grab onto his pant leg to try and prevent him from leaving.

As much as Alexander wanted to stay, he couldn’t. A relationship was sacred. He couldn’t provoke it. If they were to go through with it, with cheating, then Eliza probably would not be happy in the end and she _needed_ to be happy.

“I have to go. I’m doing this for you,” Alexander frantically spoke, tugging her hand off is his pants.

“Alexander, it’s not a big deal, I—”

“No one is happy in the end when cheating is involved,” Alexander unintentionally spoke over her. “I have to go.”

Like a gentleman, he helped her up. Leaving her on the ice would’ve been cruel. But before he would let her argue any further, he left with haste.

As she watched Alexander leave, Eliza mindlessly ran her fingers over her lips.

The feeling was familiar, yet so distant.

“You’re really fucking lucky Tench didn’t see that,” Peggy spoke up from behind. “It’s probably good that he left.”

Eliza knew Peggy was right, and she knew that she should’ve been filled with shame. Alexander was the one to pull away, not her.

Their lips just melded so perfectly…

“Get a grip, Eliza,” she thought out loud before making her way to the exit.

All she wanted to do was go home and forget Alexander, no matter how much she wanted to chase after him.


	7. Chapter 7

_My Dearest, Eliza,  
_

_Like I’d predicted lifetimes ago, you have claimed my heart as hostage yet again with your impeccable beauty and astounding charm. ‘Tis you who had flooded my senses for once and with every waking day we are parted, the more I ache for thy touch._

_As much as I’d adore continuing to use flagrant prose and woo you with the charm I’ve cultivated, it would be better for me to state it plainly._

_Eliza, I don’t think you’d understand why you are the love of my life. You certainly don’t understand why I am so madly in love with you since we’d only met under a week ago._

_You met me under a week ago, at least._

_I know this sounds incredibly bizarre, and you might think of me as a stalker since I am not going to spare the details, but the more you’re drawn away from me, the better. You have an amazing life with an amazing person in front of you, and my true goal is not to be with you, but is for you to be happy. Your happiness overrules my yearning for you any day._

_It’d be best for both of us to not interact. Like I’d previously stated, you have a fiancé who loves you. What would that make me if I stole you from his grasp?_

_I cannot bare to be a homewrecker again._

_Despite this painful letter to write, I do want to say that I love you with all of my heart. You might not understand why, and this letter that’s ending a chapter that hadn’t even started might leave you befuddled, but it might be better if you didn’t know._

_I want you to be happy, Elizabeth._

_Adieu best of wives and best of Women._

_Ever yours_

_A H_

The handwritten letter had been sitting in Eliza’s hands for the past twenty minutes. It was incredibly hard to make any sense of what Alexander had to say. The writing was all over the place, emotion wise and he referenced to her as a wife, as his true love.

He was right, she should’ve felt slightly disturbed with what he wrote. And she was disturbed in some ways, but she was not afraid of him in any way. She was disturbed by the fact that he was so ready to extinguish anything between them. He seemed so emotionally attached to her, but he was throwing away everything. A friendship would’ve been hard to maintain on his part, but Eliza was ready to have one with him. The kiss deterred her slightly, but she wasn’t planning on dropping him.

Alexander rambled about how he wanted her to be happy, and that he couldn’t be a homewrecker again. It had happened before? And why did he sign is as “ _A H_ ”?

The woman had so many questions and she wasn’t going to let them sit unanswered.

“What in God’s name is so interesting about that letter, Eliza?”

Angelica took a seat at her sister’s side and tried to look over her shoulder, but Eliza was quick to hold it to her chest.

“It’s from a friend,” Eliza spoke curtly as she went to fold up the paper. Before she could stuff it in her pocket, Angelica quickly grabbed at it and successfully snatched it from her sister’s hands.

It took the woman a couple of minutes to read the whole thing, and once she was finished with it, it left her shocked.

“You were having an affair?” Angelica asked slightly above a whisper, despite no one else currently being in the bakery.

“No, but if he didn’t send me this, we probably would’ve.” It was embarrassing to admit. “He kissed me the day we went on a double date. He stormed off after, saying that it was best for me if we didn’t and I agree with him… but I’m so intrigued by him, Angie. It seems like I’ve known him. I would’ve remembered someone like him though.”

Eliza’s confession completely caught Angelica off guard. She always thought that Tench would be her little sister’s one and only.

“What are you going to do?”

In all honesty, Eliza didn’t know what she had planned long term. She did know that she was going to go to Alexander’s and talk to him though.

“Stay with Tench, try to reinforce the strength of our relationship. I… don’t want to leave him.” Eliza was partially afraid of change and she didn’t want to break his heart. “Maybe a baby—”

“ _Don’t_ even start that conversation,” Angelica spoke harshly before pulling her apron from around her waist.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do then, Angelica. Have you met him.. Alexander?” Eliza tried to fight the tears off, but they managed to fight back, brimming her eyes.

When the older sister caught a glimpse of the pathetic looking twenty-six year old, a look of disdain crossed her features. “You’re really torn about this, aren’t you?”

“Ever since we’ve gotten engaged, everything has felt so much more platonic and… and Alexander makes me feel things. They’re warm, nice. I want to feel that again, but with Tench, I don’t. I’ve tried. I’ve tried so many times. I can’t just leave him. I can’t leave him for a person I met less than a week ago! How stupid would that be?”

The tears could no longer be held back. Grief overtook her and big tears began to roll down her full cheeks.

Eliza rarely cried. She was always so bright, sunny. Sometimes rainstorms were inevitable.

“Does Tench know that you’re not feeling much for him anymore?” Angelica asked, moving to hug her sister closer. “Have you told him about the kiss?”

“He hasn’t talked to me since I have. He always shuts down. It’s so hard to communicate.” Another wave of sadness and she let out another cry. “This is all my fault.”

Angelica didn’t want Eliza to stick that on herself, but she really didn’t know what to say otherwise. She could tell that there had been a rift in the couple’s relationship, but she really didn’t know that it was as big of an issue as it was.

“What do you want to do about it?” Angelica asked, rubbing her sister’s shoulder as she began to calm down.

“The right thing,” she replied after sniffing. Placing her head in the crook of Angelica’s neck, Eliza wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“And what do you think the right thing is?” Angelica continued, tucking a strand of hair out of Eliza’s eyes.

“My mind tells me to try to talk to Tench but my heart tells me to check on Alexander. I’m worried about him.”

It was in quite a difficult spot to be in, for Eliza at least. Angelica had never been in her spot. Relationships had come and gone for her, but she knew she loved John.

Eliza was simply lost.

“Go and see him, Liz. I don’t think there’s any harm in checking up on him, is there?”

Although she wished Angelica was right, there was going to be collateral damage. Eliza was strongly attracted to Alexander and his charm and there was really no denying it. She was left defenseless in the middle of a battleground. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, but she was caught in the middle. No matter what move she made, it broke someone.

If Eliza were to visit him, what would’ve even happened? Would she have told Alexander that she wanted to stay with Tench and try to fix things, but was attracted to him?

Would it have even been worth it?

Finally, after ten minutes of concentrated thinking, Eliza pulled her phone out and called Alexander. She didn’t know if he would answer, he hadn’t been answering her texts. Why would he answer her call?

But to her surprise, the phone call was received.

“Hello?” It wasn’t Alexander, it was the French friend Alexander mused about as they had danced.

“Gilbert? Do you mind telling me Alexander’s address? I have to—”

“I would, lovely. The problem is, he’s not doing too well. He’s locked himself up in his room and yells at almost anyone if they try to bother him.”

Eliza didn’t want Alexander hurting.

“Please, Gilbert. I need to see him. I want to talk to him. I need to talk to him. I—” The overwhelming feeling to cry overtook her, causing her voice to cut out.

The Frenchman sighed into the phone and mumbled something under his breath. “I’ll text it to you, okay?”

Relief filled Eliza, a smile sneaking its way onto her face. “Thank you so much, Gilbert. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Of course, little lady. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

* * *

The strong smell of alcohol filled Alexander’s room. It wasn’t a healthy way of coping by any means and it was rare for Alexander to turn to the whiskey bottle, but the dull pain throbbing throughout him drove him to it. Sometimes it helped him forget all issues at hand and at that moment, that was what he needed.

Eliza wasn’t the only thing on his mind. Really, it was an accumulation of several feelings all hitting at once, leaving him amongst the ruins of what was his once hopeful outlook. Things were looking good for him. He was excited about his future, then he met Eliza again and his world came crumbling down.

Seeing her again reminded him of the painful fact that he was the only one that remembered. John didn’t remember, Gilbert didn’t remember, no one remembered and he felt so incredibly alone. If he uttered a word about it, he would’ve surely been looked down upon.

The feeling of being so alone was incredibly overwhelming.

The room was nearly pitch black and it felt like the world was spinning around him. It was probably nausea, but who knew. Maybe he was dying again. Maybe it was best. He would just come back as a different person. Maybe it was best that he’d be too young for Eliza.

Alexander was far too drunk to know where he was laying. On the ground? In bed? He didn’t know and he didn’t want to. All he wanted was to fall asleep and not wake up until he wasn’t hurting anymore, but that might’ve been years.

While laying there dull and throbbing, the door cracked open slightly. The man would’ve yelled, but his head was pounding and it felt like he couldn’t move.

“Alexander?”

The voice was light and airy, and he was convinced that he was dreaming of her.

“Please get out of my head,” Alexander cried, gripping at the hair on his head. “Please.”

The door clicked shut and the sound of shuffling filled the previously silent room until he felt a presence at his side.

It was her. He wasn’t dreaming.

“Eliza, please go home. I can’t have you see me like this. You have a fiancé… we can’t do this. I can’t hurt you again,” Alexander slurred, tears crawling down his cheeks.

“I’m not going to leave you alone when you’re hurting, Alexander.” To both of their surprise, her voice cracked as she spoke. She was obviously upset.

Eliza didn’t deserve to be upset.

In the darkness, Alexander couldn’t see her. However, he let his hand roam until he found her hand. He grasped onto it before letting out another cry. “I keep failing you!”

Eliza didn’t understand. How was he failing her? How did he hurt her before? She was completely lost.

“You’re not failing me, Alexander. I care about you deeply and I don’t want you to be sad. I don’t want you to be alone. I want you to be happy. What makes you happy?”

As Alexander held onto her hand, Eliza took it upon herself to entwine their fingers. She wasn’t going to leave his side until he was feeling better. Then, she used the other hand to find his head and began to stroke his hair. She hoped he found it comforting.

“You make me happy, but your happiness is more important—”

“You are laying on the floor, drunk, Alex. I don’t want you suffering to make me happy. I am not going to allow that.”

For a bit, the room went quiet. Every once in awhile, Alexander sniff. However, no one said a word.

It was like that for a good ten minutes.

“When did you know that you loved me? And are you sure that you love me? You don’t even know me,” Eliza breathed eventually. Maybe if he knew her a little better, he would’ve moved on with ease.

She didn’t know that it wasn’t that easy.

“From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were my everything. And you always will be,” Alexander spoke in an incredibly genuine tone. “And you may never love me again, but as long as you’re happy I cannot complain. I will take the pain because I’ve wronged you so many times and I guess it’s finally time to pay the price.”

What Alexander was rambling about confused Eliza. “What do you mean? Alex, I can’t understand. I met you almost a week ago. You’ve never wronged me.”

“But I have. I have in so many ways and I would love to explain… you’d just never understand. No one does.”

Slowly, Alexander was sobering up and Eliza could tell. He was also no longer as upset, which was good. When he was upset, she couldn’t help but be upset as well.

“Why do you say that?”

Maybe it was breaking a boundary, but Eliza gently coaxed Alexander’s head into her lap.

“No one ever understands. And if I were to tell you… I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Again, the room went silent for a good few minutes. Then, Alexander decided to ask something that had been on his mind.

“Why are you wasting your time on me?”

Did she admit that she was interested in him? Did she tell him that she was at a crossroads?

“I think I’m enamored with you, Alexander.”

“I’m not going to start something while you’re still in a relationship, Eliza,” Alexander spoke strictly, pulling his hand from hers.

“I know,” she replied with a sigh.

“And you might not even want me when I tell you the truth.”

“What do you mean?”

Alexander let out a sigh. At first, he was hesitant to say it for her sake, but he eventually spoke up. “If you decide that you’re more interested in me, I’ll show you. Right now, you’re not ready and I don’t want to influence your decision.”

Eliza was glad that he was so level headed.

“I'll… let you know. I don’t know when, or if. I don’t even know if I feel anything with Tench anymore. I haven’t for a while. I need to figure that out first. But I’ll let you know.” After patting his shoulder, Eliza muttered, “You should get into bed and air the room out. The smell must be giving you a headache. It’s so strong.”

To Eliza’s surprise, Alexander lightly chuckled. “For sure. It’s terrible.” He went to get up and do it himself, but Eliza found his shoulders and gently scooted his head out of her lap before standing. “Let me.”

While Eliza parted the curtains and opened the window for him, he found his way to his bed and plopped down on it. He didn’t bother with any sheets since the alcohol was heating him up, but he did hug a pillow close to his chest before letting his eyes flutter shut.

Once the pale moonlight subtly lit up the room and the frigid breeze helped the ripe stench of alcohol fade, Eliza turned around to finally look at Alexander.

The man looked like a mess.

He hadn’t shaven and was beginning to get a beard—not that it was a bad look—and it seemed as if he hadn’t changed the outfit he ice skated in. He’d really locked himself away and that made Eliza feel bad. It seemed like he had so much internal conflict. She didn’t know that she was right.

She gently sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. Then, she tugged the covers over him since the winter air would make the room chilly. His eyes slightly opened afterward and he faked a lazy smile. “Thank you.”

“Call me tomorrow, okay? I want to make sure you’re doing okay,” Eliza murmured, ruffling his hair before standing up.

As she left, she swore she heard Alexander say that he loved her, and she believed it despite him only knowing her for such a short time.

“How did you do that?”

Clicking the door shut, Eliza turned around to face Alexander’s rather handsome friend. She spared a smile before replying. “I know how to calm him down, I guess.”

“John and I have tried since he locked himself up. He’s never like this. He never runs cold. He always runs hot..” Gilbert almost seemed speechless as he placed his hands on his hips. “You broke him,” he almost laughed. “But you also fixed him, I assume. Bonne nuit, petite dame.”

Thankfully, Eliza knew French. She didn’t know where she learned it, but it weirdly came naturally to her. “Bonne nuit. Remind Alexander to call me.”

She left after that.

By the time she got home, it was around twelve. It was rare that she got home so late and she informed Tench that she had to make a pit stop. Despite the warning, she could feel the tension a mile away. There was going to be some sort of dispute and she wasn’t looking forward to it.

The minute she opened the door, two dogs charged at her with impeccable speed and like they were taught not to, both Pip and Ange hopped up on her legs.

“Hello, mommy’s home!” Eliza cooed at her dogs, deciding to let go of the “no jumping” rule. It made her happy that they were excited to see her.

After putting her bag by the front door, she scooped up both dogs in her arms and slowly made her way around the house to search for her moody fiancé. He seemed to like the cats, so maybe he was hanging out with them.

He was the first place she looked, however: the living room. He was sitting on the couch, a stern look on his face. He looked very displeased and Eliza knew.

Surely, he thought she went off to canoodle with Alexander.

“Hey.”

“I want to see your phone.”

Eliza let out a laugh at his demand. “Yeah, okay.” She went to leave the room and get ready for bed, but Tench harshly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards the couch.

Thankfully, his grasp wasn’t too tight. She was able to pull herself a safe proximity away from Tench before yelling, “This is why I’m falling out of love with you!”

Tench’s eyes widened when he realized that he messed up, yet again. “E-eliza…”

“This is why I’m tired! You’re controlling and possessive and it’s annoying! If you actually trusted me, this wouldn’t be an issue. It has been for a while and now I’m tired of it, Tench. I thought I loved you. I thought I wanted to get married to you! You just keep screwing up the chances and I don’t even know if I want to be with you anymore. I wanted to give it yet another chance but…” Eliza took a deep breath and exhaled. She had to take a moment to calm herself down before continuing. “All we do is fight and I’m tired of it. You’re sleeping on the couch tonight and my children are going to cuddle with me.”

Eliza placed a kiss on each of the dogs’ heads before making her way to the bedroom.

The minute the door shut and Eliza sat on her bed, she sat the dogs aside, hunched over, and began to sob.

Never had Eliza’s life been out of her control. Never had she thought that she was going to break an engagement. Never had she thought that she was going to be interested in another man, but it felt so natural.

Most people would’ve blamed Alexander, but he did nothing. If anything, she lead him on.

Everyone was hurting and it was entirely her fault.

Eliza didn’t know if she could forgive herself for the pain she inflicted on the people she cared about most. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Eliza never expected Tench to be so intrusive. Only six years before, he was the nicest guy she’d met, and several people had said the same. Eliza didn’t know if she should’ve blamed his actions on them strictly being “fight or flight” or something else.

One of Eliza’s worst vices was being too trusting, too caring even. No matter who it was, she’d always try to think higher of people. Pinning someone as a bad person, unless they committed a serious offense, wasn’t something Eliza did.

Tench, however, wasn’t the same.

It was the morning after the one-sided dispute and Eliza decided to sleep in. She’d texted her sisters the night before that she needed a day to herself and they lovingly assured her that it was perfectly okay and that she needed the time. Despite leaving out a lot of the details, Eliza summed up that she no longer knew what to do and both sympathized with her.

Tench didn’t get the message though, and took the liberty of her sleeping in as an invitation to sleuth around. He was careful, considering it possible that she would walk out, but it did it anyway.

It didn’t take long for the man to find something that deeply upset him: the letter Alexander had eloquently written and had delivered via John Ramos. The words written on the parchment paper left Tench angry beyond rational thought.

 _That was where she was last night_ , Tench thought. _Whoring with the man she’d only met a week ago_.

In all of his blind rage, Tench stomped his way to the bedroom and slammed the door open as soon as he could reach the doorknob.

Eliza was startled awake and both dogs became hostile with the obvious anger permeating from the man.

“Where were you last night, Elizabeth?” Tench asked through gritted teeth, keeping a distance from her. Despite his rage, he still loved her and when he became too angry, he could become violent.

The last thing he wanted to do was lay a hand on her.

“I was at Alexander’s. I was cheering him up since he was upset,” Eliza spoke honestly, her hand slowly inching to grab something to use if she needed to defend herself. Never had Eliza seen Tench so angry, and she would be lying if she said he wasn’t scaring her just a bit.

“Just cheering him up, huh?” The man darkly chuckled, leaning against the doorway of the room. “And how did you do that, _baby_?”

He spoke with pure poison, making Eliza nauseous. Maybe getting out of the house would’ve been good. She wouldn’t have to deal with the developing unhealthy relationship she was currently in.

“I talked to him,” Eliza spoke, the courage wavering in her voice. With each minute, she was becoming more and more terrified, but she wasn’t going to show it. She was a strong woman and that was how she was going to present herself. “We talked. That’s it. Don’t you trust me?”

“You kissed him—”

“It was an accident!” Eliza finally shouted back. Taking the blame wasn’t the smartest thing, but she didn’t want Tench to kill Alexander.

“But you still did it.”

Tench went to rip the letter, but Eliza sprung to her feet, clutching a wire hanger she’d found between the wall and the mattress. “Don’t.”

“Why does it matter?!” Tench screamed, making Eliza want to flinch. Thankfully, she didn’t. “You’re mine, Eliza. Not his—”

“He’s my friend!” Eliza spoke in defense, inching closer. It wasn’t the best idea, but Eliza wanted her letter. Tench didn’t have the right to just rip it up.

“You’re not seeing him again!” Tench finally roared, tearing the letter up into pieces.

Eliza’s heart dropped into her stomach and the defensive look on her face melted away.

She was angry beyond words, and sadly, Eliza was an angry crier.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Eliza cried, going to pick up the ripped up pieces. Tench, however, yanked her up by the wrist.

“Don’t you dare.”

They were incredibly close, chests nearly touching. His hand was tightly wrapped around her wrist and his hot breath was puffing right in her face.

“Get. Off. Of. Me,” Eliza spoke through her tears, standing her ground. “While you’re at it, pack your shit and leave.”

Those words hit Tench like a truck, his angry demeanor shedding like a chrysalis. He realized what he did, and again, he didn’t stop himself.

“Eliza..”

“I’m tired, Tench. I’m so tired. Ever since you’ve proposed, you’ve turned into a brute. Possessive, controlling, mean. I’m not going to marry someone who treats me like a pet.” Eliza never thought she would’ve done it, but she plucked the ring from her finger and handed it over. “I don’t want that anymore.”

“Eliza, please,” Tench nearly whimpered, tears brimming his beautiful eyes. In a dramatic attempt to reconcile, he dropped to his knees and grasped onto her hand. “One more chance—”

“I’ve given you plenty.”

Since Tench wouldn’t take the ring, Eliza dropped it in front of him. Then, she pulled her hand from his grasp and meandered her way to her closet.

Accepting the invitation to leave, Tench stood to his feet. “I love you.”

Eliza ignored him as he made his way out of the room.

It was sick that he said that he loved her. He clearly didn’t. Actions spoke louder than words, after all.

The initial shock of what had happened didn’t hit until after she got ready for the day. As soon as she took a seat on the edge of the bed, she realized that what had just happened _really_ happened. It wasn’t a bad dream, it wasn’t a theatrical hoax. She actually refused his proposal.

Eliza didn’t know how to feel. There was a hint of relief, yet her heart broke in many pieces. Tench was the only man she’d ever loved and he proved himself to be not-so-good of a fiancé. He was a great boyfriend, there was no denying that. She guessed that being engaged allowed his true colors to peak through his façade.

Better late than never, she supposed.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. Eliza was glad of it, wanting to not brood any longer. She hated reflecting on the past sometimes.

When she reached her cell phone, she found that Alexander was calling.

He remembered.

“Hey,” Eliza muttered into the phone once she answered the call. “You remembered.”

“I’d never forget,” Alexander answered with sincerity. “I’m doing okay.”

Eliza was glad of that. At least one of them were. “That’s good.”

“What about you? Are you doing okay? You sound melancholy.”

Melancholy was a peculiar word to use in casual conversation, but it captured her mood almost perfectly. “Yeah. I am… are you at work?”

“Every weekday. I took personal days Monday and Tuesday though.”

Eliza nodded. “Do you think George would mind if I came in? I enjoy your company.”

“I’m sure he would be fine,” Alexander spoke in a more elated tone, causing a sad smile to flicker on Eliza’s face. “He is a family friend, is he not?”

“Yep… I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” Eliza hummed into the phone. Her mood was already improving, which was good. She hated being in a bad mood.

“Yeah! Be safe on your way here, okay?” Alexander spoke with a jubilant fervor, causing the smile on Eliza’s face to grow slightly.

“I will be.”

* * *

“What’s wrong with Alexander?”

Standing aside, but still being able to see into Alexander’s new cubicle, George and Gilbert stood. They’d always been pretty close, making Gil a rather important person to the law firm. While George was the COO, Gil was given the title of Litigation Support Professional. Both men were practically vital to the non-lawyering parts of the law firm. They often talked, and they just so happened to catch a glimpse of Alexander desperately trying to straighten up new, but completely untidy cubicle. George was uninformed of his lady friend.

“He’s in _love_ ,” Gilbert chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I think she’s stopping by.”

“Oh?” Shoving his hands into his pockets, George shook his head. “He’s a mess.”

“She’s good for him, George. You should’ve seen him yesterday. He was really upset and she came over and by the time she left, he completely calmed down.” Gilbert smiled slightly. His little friend deserved someone like that. “But alas, she’s engaged. It’s a love that isn’t meant to be.”

“You’re not talking about Eliza Walker, are you?” George spoke, suddenly remembering his birthday party. They hadn’t paid any attention but to each other. “She’s marrying Tench Taylor next January.”

“‘Tis a shame. Alexander is obsessed with her.” Clapping a hand on George’s shoulder, Gil turned to his boss and smiled. “I better get back to work. Important stuff, especially with the case that’s coming up. Let’s just hope Aaron can handle this one.”

“He can, he’s an amazing lawyer,” George assured before heading to his office. “I’ll see you later, and if Eliza stops by, tell her to come and talk to me. I need to give her something to give to her father.”

“I’ll tell Alexander that,” Gil noted before trailing his way to Alexander’s cubicle. Once George disappeared, he rushed to the cubicle and sat on the desk.

“Off my desk,” Alexander said immediately after his eyes fell on Gilbert. He was in a rush to clean up his space. The last thing he wanted Eliza to see was a messy workspace.

It was really more of an organized mess, but not everyone understood the concept.

“I might’ve eavesdropped on your conversation with yourself. Is she coming now?” Gilbert inquired as he respected Alexander’s wishes and stood up.

“I don’t know, but I called twenty minutes ago and if she is, she could be here any—”

“A-alex?” His angel’s voice stammered, immediately capturing his attention.

When he caught a glimpse of her, his heart ached. She was crying.

“Oh, Betsey,” Alexander murmured, his eyes falling to her frosting covered shirt. Then, he looked down at her feet. She _had_ a box of cupcakes and she had dropped them.

That wasn’t why she was crying though and Alexander knew it. She’d gone through a miscarriage and too many deaths for her to be upset over dropped cupcakes. He knew her strength.

“I-i’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drop it and now there’s a mess and—” A cry overwhelmed her talking, causing Alexander to bound towards her. She needed to vent and he wasn’t going to make her talk about whatever was bothering her where everyone could hear her.

“Come with me, darling,” Alexander spoke as he pulled her towards the break room. As far as he knew, no one else was in there and it was the only closed off room other than George’s and the CFO Charles’ office.

Upon approaching the room, Alexander found John sitting there on his own. He looked like he was asleep, but when Alexander walked into the room, John turned to face them. “Do you guys need to be—”

“Yeah,” Alexander spoke over John in urgency, not meaning to be rude by any means. “If Gil hasn’t done so, can you clean up the dropped cupcakes in front of my cubicle?”

“Yeah, of course,” John promised as he stood up. As he left, he spared the crying girl a smile before closing the door behind him.

Alexander had Eliza sit on the couch, then he sat by her side. He let go of her, not sure if she wanted to seek comfort. He did, however, keep close.

“What’s upsetting you? I know it’s not just the cupcakes.”

Eliza gazed at Alexander through bleary eyes and attempted to say something, but it was muffled by a cry. So, she leaned against Alexander and continued to let aching tears roll down her cheeks.

Knowing that he wasn’t leaping over any boundaries, Alexander wrapped an arm around her small physique. “If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. Just know that I am all ears if you desire to.”

While Eliza trembled in his grip, Alexander glanced down to notice a bruise forming around her wrist.

Tench.

Anger began to boil up within him, but he knew she didn’t need his explosive attitude at the moment. She needed someone who could be soft with her. However, Alexander was terrible at that. He always had been unless he was allowed to blow off his steam first.

Not wanting to leave her side but not wanting to explode, Alexander excused himself for a brief moment.

“I want to kill him,” Alexander nearly shouted as soon as he stomped up to his friends. “I want to _kill_ him and I might!”

There was a slight stir within the office, but everyone knew how Alexander was. So, they went back to their work and stayed out of the trio’s business.

“What happened?” Gilbert asked, an obvious look of concern crossing his face. “Did he cheat on her?”

“He _hurt_ her,” Alexander growled under his breath, cracking his knuckles as he looked for a physical way to take his anger out. There was nothing.

“Okay…? How?” John asked, placing the last of the cupcakes in their cardboard carrier. Most of them landed on the icing side of the cupcake, they could just wipe off the frosting and still eat the cupcake.

John had before Alexander stormed up.

“She has a bruise around her wrist,” Alexander spoke, nearly trembling. He was beyond livid. “I am going to kill that motherfucker, I swear.”

“You’re not killing anyone, Alex,” John asserted, placing his hands on his friend’s shoulders once he stood up. “Trust me, I wanted to kill Charles a few months ago, but I didn’t, did I? Plus, she needs you, doesn’t she?”

John, his fellow explosive person, was talking Alexander down.

It was quite the trip.

“I just don’t know how anyone could hurt her. She’s an angel.” After taking a deep breath, Alexander closed his eyes and exhaled. “I need to go back and comfort her.”

“You do that, okay? And give her space. Don’t force anything.”

“I’m not like that,” Alexander mumbled before shuffling back to the break room.

After closing the door behind him, Alexander sat back down next to Eliza. “I’m sorry, I needed to compose myself. I got really upset and you don’t need anyone to be obviously angry right now.”

“Why did you get upset?” Eliza sniffed, recovering from her fit of tears. It was nice to know that she was beginning to dry up. Alexander always abhorred seeing her so upset.

Instead of verbally answering, Alexander tenderly grasped onto Eliza’s hand and held it up, gesturing to her wrist. “Does he do this a lot, Eliza?”

She didn’t even realize that it was bruised.

Never had Eliza thought that Tench would bruise her.

“No… I didn’t even realize he did it until now,” Eliza admitted, gazing at her wrist. She held it to her face a little closer and shook her head.

There was no way she could let him off with another warning. The decision was final; she wanted him out.

“Why did he hurt you, my love?” Alexander inquired, trying his best to mask his anger. No one hurt his love.

“After I got home last night, I went to look for him. Well, he was sitting on the couch and asked to see my phone and I said no. It’s not like I have anything to hide, but he was demanding me to and I’m not going to take orders from him like he’s a general. So, he got angry and tried to force me to, but I yelled at him. He realized that he was wrong but I didn’t want to deal with it.” Eliza leaned back against the couch and inhaled deeply as she shut her eyes. “I felt really bad that night. I felt stuck. I felt like I was leading you on and I felt bad for falling out of love. But now, I don’t feel bad for falling out of love with him. He’s borderline abusive and I’m glad that I figured that out before I married him. He did it this morning.”

“Is that what’s making you upset?” Alexander crooned, scooting a little closer again. He leaned back as well but crossed his arms over his chest so he wouldn’t be tempted to hold her.

“Yes, kind of. I just thought that Tench would be my love for the rest of my life. He was my first and only love.” Shaking her head at the memories, Eliza whispered, “I feel like six years of my life were robbed from me.”

Alexander didn’t know what to say except, “Did you ever have any indication that he was abusive in any way?”

The woman shook her head. “No. I think I’m upset because it _really_ just hit me. I’m not getting married to him and I want him as far away from me as possible. I asked him to move out, but I don’t know if he’s going to.”

“I can sleep on the couch and you can stay at mine… only if you want. I’d have to clean my room first, but if you need a place to stay, my place is always an option.” Although he offered, he knew that she’d probably stay with one of her sisters instead. He didn’t want to be rude, however, and wanted to her to know that he cared.

Like expected, Eliza glanced over and smiled before shaking her head. “It’s okay, Angelica offered. If I ever do need to stay at anyone else’s, I’ll take up the offer.”

Not like expected, Eliza rested a hand on his thigh and closed her eyes again.

She looked exhausted.

“You know, if you want, you can sleep. And when work is over, I could take you back to your place and make sure Tench isn’t there? Yeah? I don’t want him to hurt you again, Eliza. I’m so afraid of that.” Alexander was tempted to stroke her hair, but again, he wanted to give her space.

It was an offer that Eliza sadly probably needed to take up on. Though she never had to use the coat hanger, it was frightening enough that she _had_ to find something that protected her.

“Can you?” Eliza sleepily questioned, leaning against Alexander’s arm. “That would be nice…”

“Of course,” Alexander replied earnestly, placing his hand on top of hers which still rested on his thigh.

After sitting with her for a bit, Alexander looked over to find that Eliza had fallen asleep. Even in her slumber, she was so incredibly beautiful.

With a kiss to her forehead, Alexander gently laid her down on the couch and fetched the blanket that cloaked him the week before when he was sick. Once draping it over her dainty body, Alexander stood up and tucked a few strands of her bobbed hair behind her ear.

“Have a good nap, my love. I’ll be back to check on you later.” Again, Alexander pressed a kiss to her temple and walked out of the break room.

He made sure to gently close the door so he wouldn’t wake her up. Despite not knowing how well she slept, it was obvious that she needed more. Bags were threatening to show up under her eyes and her face was slightly puffed from tears. She needed every ounce of sleep she could get, and he hoped no one would wake her in the next few hours.

Finally making it back to his cubicle, Alexander found that Gilbert and John were still standing there. John was the first one to spot Alexander and a look of concern appeared on his face.

“What did she say about the bruise?” He inquired as soon as Alexander took a seat on his out-of-place wooden chair.

“She said that she didn’t realize he gave her one and she never thought he could do something so bad.” Alexander hopelessly sighed. “I really want to fucking kill him, but he’s probably going to annihilate me before I can have the chance. Have you seen how big he is?”

“Why would he get the upper hand?” Gilbert asked, going to sit on Alexander’s desk before remembering that Alexander didn’t approve of it. So, he stopped himself. “Are you seeing him today?”

“Possibly,” Alexander replied with a huff. “I don’t want to get violent in front of Eliza though. She doesn’t need that right now.”

Going over to collect Eliza’s things was most likely going to be hard, especially if Tench was there. The man did not like Alexander and Alexander didn’t like him. Despite trying to give him a chance, it was obvious that Tench didn’t really know how to respect women.

Some things translated through each lifetime that shouldn’t have, such as sexism. It seemed apparent that was what happened with Tench, and Alexander wanted Eliza to be happy, but he didn’t want her to be around someone who didn’t understand that she had rights.

Thankfully, Eliza was able to pick up on the sexism as well. She was an activist, from what she explained.

It was simply too bad that she didn’t pick up on it earlier.

At least she was finally out of harm’s way.


	9. Chapter 9

Eliza managed to get much better sleep on the couch than she did that night in her own bed. It was a restless night, but Eliza didn’t realize how tired she was until she perched next to Alexander while they talked.

After a good six hour nap, Eliza’s eyes fluttered open to find Alexander’s blurry body peering down at her. With a few blinks, the clouds in her eyes drifted away and she saw Alexander clearly. A smile was etched onto his face, amour in his eyes.

“Good evening, sleepy head. You slept through the day,” he chuckled, sitting at her feet. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Sitting up slightly, Eliza hugged the blanket to her chest and blinked a few more times to try and get the sleep out of her eyes. “Not much.”

“You had a tough morning as well. No wonder you slept so long.” Scooting a little closer, Alexander reached out and tenderly pulled her arm into his grasp before examining her wrist. It was undeniably bruised. “Does it hurt at all?”

Swinging her legs off of the couch, Eliza scooted a little closer so he could more easily check it out. “Not right now.”

“Why did he hurt you anyway?” Alexander questioned, his easy-going temperament wavering in the tone of his voice.

Anger was beginning to consume him again.

“Well, he woke me up when he found your letter. He must’ve been digging through my stuff because it wasn’t just laying out. He got angry and went to confront me about it. Then, he started ripping it up and…” Eliza took a deep breath. It was the only love letter she’d ever gotten. Although she wasn’t with Alexander, it was touching, and frankly, it made her feel like a princess. Tench never made her feel like a princess. Sure, he made her feel beautiful, but not like she was the most important person in the world. The first paragraph of that letter made her feel like nothing else. “Well, I tried to grab it, but he yanked me up by the wrist and his grip was really tight. I didn’t know it was that tight.”

“It was and I’m really angry about it,” Alexander told her in all honesty. “No one should…” Suddenly, tears sprung to Alexander’s eyes as he continued to gaze at her bruised wrist. “No one should touch an angel like this.” Almost out of instinct, Alexander began to pepper kisses to her wrist. If he could take the pain away, he would.

“Alex, it’s not your—”

“It is, darling. If I hadn’t written that letter, you wouldn’t be hurt… Eliza, I cannot stand to see you hurting. It crushes me because I know I can’t take the pain away from you. I can only help, but that’s not always enough.” Alexander reached towards Eliza and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “It may just be a bruise, but you loved that man. You’ve got to be hurting a little bit.”

Alexander was right about everything and it was comforting that he was so loving towards her. However, after that, Eliza wasn’t sure if she even wanted to be with anyone for a bit. Alexander was amazing and he made her feel like she was on cloud nine, but she needed a brief intermission. She didn’t need a man, after all. However, she liked the companionship.

“Please don’t worry about me,” Eliza murmured eventually, placing a hand on top of the one that was grasping onto her other arm.

“I’ve always worried about you, Eliza. Always.” It was true. He got lost a time or two, but Eliza guided him home, forgave him, showed him how to be a good husband. They were nothing but friends at that moment, but Alexander hoped that she would eventually let him in before their lifetime ended again.

“For the week you’ve known me,” she chuckled.

“If only you knew, my dear,” Alexander sighed before letting her go.

He would try and help her remember if she allowed it.

“Are you talking about ‘the truth’ that you were going on about last night?” Eliza asked as she pulled the blanket from her body. When she found that frosting had transferred from her shirt and to the blanket, she blushed.

“I am,” Alexander affirmed as he took in her reaction. He was confused. “What happened?”

“There’s some frosting on the blanket.” Eliza glanced at Alexander and plastered an obviously fake smile on her face before emitting a nervous chuckle. “Sorry.”

Alexander frowned at himself. He should’ve remembered, not her. “Don’t apologize, you did nothing wrong. Your mind was on other things,” Alexander muttered as he grabbed the blanket. “I’ll wash that, and as for your shirt… You can wear mine if you want.”

Eliza rose a brow at his offer. “But you’re wearing it.”

“Undershirt,” Alexander explained as he began to unbutton the white button down shirt he was wearing.

After loosening the tie he was wearing and completely unbuttoning the shirt, he handed it over with a smile. “I’ll step out or turn around or—”

Eliza stripped right in front of him, not exactly caring.

Although tearing his eyes from her quickly just to give her some privacy, he did manage to catch a glimpse of her body.

From what he saw, she had a nice, slim but curvaceous figure somewhat like the body she had when they were married before they had children. However, she had the addition of what looked like stretch marks. He assumed that they were what he thought, guessing that they transferred like scars did. It only made sense.

“Thank you for looking away,” Eliza spoke once she finished buttoning the last button. “Most guys would’ve probably stared at me the whole time.”

“Most men aren’t chivalrous, dear.” Standing up, Alexander looked back towards her and scooped the blanket up in one arm before using the other to hold out a hand towards Eliza.

“Chivalry is a dying art,” Eliza suggested as she took his hand.

Hoisting her up, Alexander let out a laugh. “Not if I can help it.”

All of a sudden, the door swung open, John and Gil standing there. They looked shocked, as if they didn’t mean to open the door.

“I can see that the little lady is awake,” Gilbert spoke up, faking a smile.

“Were you eavesdropping?” Alexander didn’t know what else to expect from them. They always teased Alexander about his love life, even when they fighting against the redcoats.

“No! We were just waiting for you to escort your lady friend to us so we can get her to her sister’s house!” John laughed nervously.

Alexander might’ve been a bad liar, but John was worse.

“I have a name and what about them taking me to Angelica’s? And how did you know which sister I wanted to go to?” Eliza turning to Alexander and cocked a brow. “Alexander.”

“I just told them to take you where you’re going to stay. Oh, and I’m going to pick up your clothes and bring them to you.” Alexander flashed a grin before continuing. “The only reason I planned this is because I’m afraid of him hurting you again and I don’t want you to see a bad side of me if I just so happen to run into him. I’m sorry I didn’t run this by you… I—”

“Hey, thank you for looking out for me.” Eliza smiled at Alexander and took a hand of his to squeeze it. “You should’ve ran it by me, you’re right. I’m a big girl. However, I will take up the offer because I… I don’t think I can look at Tench again.”  

It was terrible that Eliza was in that situation, but it was better if she stayed safe and out of his way.

“You won’t have to anymore,” Alexander cooed. Holding her hand up to his lips, he placed a kiss on her knuckles before muttering, “I hope you don’t mind, but I will have a few choice words for Tench.”

Eliza’s eyes widened with those words. She hastily pulled her hand from his grip so she could place both of them on his thin shoulders. “Please don’t let him kill you.”

Alexander just laughed. Tench could not kill him. “I’d like to see him try.”

“Alexander, you’ve seen him!” Eliza nearly yelped, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. “He’s double your size, works out every day… He could probably snap you in half!”

“I can handle it,” Alexander promised her with a smile. “Don’t you worry about me.”

It was tempting to believe him, but something in her just didn’t sit right. She wasn’t sure what it was, but there was a faint memory of a broken promise that was made years ago. The memory was too far gone for her to pinpoint what the promise was, but she did remember the sorrow harboring within her after it was broken.

“Eliza.”

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Alexander gently grasped onto her bicep.

“Sorry… I was thinking.”

“You were remembering,” Alexander replied.

She was remembering. He could tell, it was the look in her eyes.

The eyes spoke more than the lips did.

“How did you—”

“Alex, we should probably go,” John accidentally spoke over Eliza. “It’s starting to get dark outside.”

John was right. Alexander looked back at Eliza and placed the blanket on the ground temporarily so he could hug her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in and grinned when she wrapped her arms around him.

It was nice to properly embrace her again. It’d been too long.

“Be safe, Alexander,” Eliza whispered in his ear.

He didn’t know why she was so worried.

“I will be.”

* * *

By the time Alexander pulled up to the apartment with the address Eliza gave him, it was about 6:30 in the evening. A sense of calmness filled him. He knew that there was probably going to be physical violence on Tench’s behalf, but if it was in the name of Eliza, Alexander was willing to punch back if he needed to. He usually didn’t resort to violence unless absolutely necessary.

She’d given him a key as well, and she had instructed him to get her mice. Before they parted ways, Eliza explained that she was able to get her dogs and cats and leave them in kennels at Walker’s Bakery, but the mice were a little bit harder to grab.

So, that was going to be the first thing he grabbed for.

Alexander made sure he was quiet when opening the door, not wanting to draw any attention to himself unless he needed to. However, when he opened the door, he heard the sound of crying.

Following the sound wasn’t on his itinerary, but Alexander felt as if he almost needed to check up on the man. So, he slammed the door closed.

“Oh, Eliza! You came back!” Tench cried from the other room, causing Alexander to roll his big, brown eyes.

Was it some sort of joke, or was he genuine? Alexander couldn’t tell. Either way, he sounded desperate.

“I know how we can fix this, baby! We can go to Virginia, run away. We to don’t need—” Tench walked into the room, spotting Alexander.

“I’m here to get her things and leave, but I wanted to talk to you,” Alexander explained in a clear, calm tone. If he could avoid getting punched in the face, it would be nice, but if Tench just so happened to resort to being violent, he wouldn’t be too angry.

“ _You_ ,” Tench practically growled under his breath, inching closer. “Why are _you_ here?”

“I just told you, Tench. Now, will you sit down so we can talk?” Alexander impatiently crossed his arms over his chest and began to rapidly tap his foot against the ground. He didn’t know if Tench would listen to him.

Almost like expected, Tench only inched closer and closer, his breath getting heavier with each move he made.

“Or not, but—”

“Who do you think you are?!” Tench finally screamed in Alexander’s face. Despite the intensity and how close up Tench was, he didn’t flinch. He didn’t know how to flinch. It definitely startled him, which was understandable. However, he was able to remain cool.

“I would like to ask you the same question, Tench. Who do you think you are? Obviously not the man my Eliza fell in love with.” The tapping of Alexander’s foot sped up as Tench continued to inch closer and closer. The man was uncomfortably close and Alexander wanted to back up, but he needed to stand with assertion. He was not to be stepped on like a doormat.

“ _Your_ Eliza!” Tench laughed, finally backing up so he could begin to consistently pace. “How long has she been whoring around with you?”

The cool collectiveness that Alexander was maintaining melted away the minute he insulted Eliza. It was sick that men threw the word around so loosely, knowing it had negative connotations. Eliza had never been a whore.

“She is not a whore, Tench, and she hasn’t touched me. Trust me, I don’t want her to cheat and I don’t think she would. She’s an amazing person who deserves way better than you,” Alexander nearly growled, slowly making his way towards Tench at this point. “I should’ve found her before you! I would’ve given her the world!”

“And I haven’t?” Tench cynically laughed. “I gave her the confidence to be a baker. I bought her the goddamn store! You walked into her life a _week_ ago!” Tench screamed so loud, Alexander could practically feel the vibrations.

“I was in her life longer than you’ve ever been!” Alexander finally screamed, going in to shove Tench. However, the man was a step ahead of him. Tench had always had quick reflexes; he socked Alexander right in the eye before he could get too close.

Alexander had endured too much pain for a blow to the eye to really hurt. He just laughed and rubbed his eye before placing his hands on his hips.

“You’re such a pussy, Tench. You can’t even find the words to fight back. You do it with your fists. That’s an incredibly weak trait. I—” Tench punched him again, square in the jaw.

“You walked into Eliza’s life a week ago, you fucking liar!” Tench bellowed, punching Alexander again in the nose. “You don’t know her like I do!”

Alexander just laughed, wiping the blood from his nose away with the back of his hand. “You shouldn’t be in a relationship. Do you know that she had a bruise on her wrist when she ran to me, Tench? She had a bruise on her wrist, right where you grabbed her!”

Although he wanted to, Alexander couldn’t resort to violence. Eliza wouldn’t want that. She’d seen the best and worst of him, but he didn’t ever want her to see him stoop so low again.

The angry, defensive man slowly deflated at the news. He didn’t realize that he’d bruised her and he’d already felt guilty enough for driving her out of the house.

“I did?” Tench whispered, wiping the back of his hands down the side of his pants. “I hurt her?”

“Yes, you hurt her over a fucking letter.” Alexander shook his head as he stormed his way into the living room so he could get Eliza’s mice.

“How bad was the bruise…? Fuck! I can’t believe I hurt her!” Tench scolded himself harshly, trailing behind Alexander. “I need to see her, you need to let me—”

“You’re not seeing her. I don’t want you to and she doesn’t want you to go over either. She wants to be with the people she loves.” Alexander shrugged as he took a hold of the fish tank containing the mice.

“Who are you to keep me from—”

“I know her more than you do or more than you ever will if I can help it,” Alexander huffed as he carried the mice back to her room. “And you’re going to stay away!”

Again, Tench followed Alexander, surprised by the man’s resilience. Tench had punched him _pretty_ hard. “How would you know her more than me? I’ve dated her for six years.”

Thankfully, Tench’s temper subsided a bit, but his defensiveness was building back up.

“And I’ve been married to her for over twenty years. I know that’s not a lot in the scape of over two hundred years, but people die, things happen—”

“What in the fuck are you talking about?” Tench grumbled, leaning against the doorway of the room. “You’re what, twenty-six, twenty-seven?”

“You don’t understand the universe well enough to understand what I’m talking about. Maybe you’ll figure it out eventually, though.” Alexander would’ve called Tench a simpleton, but that would’ve implied that everyone he knew was as well.

That just wasn’t true.

“I do understand that you’re crazy,” Tench replied, a sternness in his voice. The conversation almost seemed to diffuse into a friendly conversation, but that wasn’t what it was supposed to be.

“I suppose you’re right. Now, will you please leave me alone?” Alexander huffed before going to her closet to grab her things. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“But I want to talk to you. How in the fuck are you not in pain? I punched you pretty hard.” Tench chuckled, earning him a glare from Alexander.

Instead of saying anything, Alexander pulled his shirt up to reveal his scars. He pointed directly to the scar from his fatal shot. “This paralyzed me and killed me a day after.”

“What in the fuck are you talking about?!” Tench finally yelled again, the agitation enough to set him off.  Although the scars were impressive, he had some of his own. And what was he rambling on about? It was bullshit.

“Again, you wouldn’t understand,” Alexander muttered as he placed all of the clothes he could grab on the bed right next to the mouse cage.

Suddenly, Tench grabbed Alexander by the collar and pulled him rather roughly to look him in the eyes. “Tell me, you motherfucker.”

“You can’t scare me, Tench,” Alexander laughed directly in the man’s face before attempting to shove him off. However, Tench was far too strong.

“Tell me!” Tench yelled again, throwing Alexander to the ground. “You stole Eliza from me, you could at least tell me!”

Alexander had hit his head pretty hard on the ground, but it wasn’t enough to deter him. “If we’re being technical, you took Eliza from me… but I took Eliza from you when you called dibs… huh, maybe you’re right, but that’s not the case. I married her, you—”

“You’re crazy!” Tench screamed, kicking Alexander in the side. “Fucking crazy!”

As Alexander attempted to get up, he was only kicked down again by Tench. He guessed that was what he got for not being the strongest person. However, he was persistent with attempting to get up.

“You deserve this! For taking her! For kissing her! For everything!” Tench roared with each kick Alexander was inflicted with. “You’re better off dead! She was mine before you showed up! Fuck you!”

Alexander knew there was a point to where he couldn’t exactly fight back, so to protect himself, he curled up and kept Tench from kicking anything that could hurt too much.

Eventually, Tench’s anger wore down and he stepped back, chuckling at how pathetic Alexander looked. “Eliza deserves a man, and you clearly aren’t.”

With a surprising amount of gusto, Alexander pounced to his feet and kicked Tench square in the shin before pushing him to the ground. He told himself that he wouldn’t resort to violence, but it felt like he didn’t have much of an option at that point.

Plus, his pride was slightly hurt with the proclamation of Alexander not being a man.

“A _real_ man doesn’t resort to such abhorrent violence. That’s called cowardice. Now, get the fuck away so I can leave.”

Finally, Tench left, limping.

Alexander sighed in relief the minute he closed the door. He was pretty battered and bruised, but he didn’t hurt. Surely, he would be sore in the morning but he was okay at the moment.

“Says I’m not a man but he resorts to violence almost immediately,” Alexander scoffed to himself as he shoved her things into a bag. “A man doesn’t hurt the person he loves. A man only uses violence in self-defense. I wasn’t even attacking him!”

Alexander groaned as he took a seat. What was he going to say to Eliza when she saw him? He could almost see it. Eliza was going to be terrified, he just hoped that she wouldn’t cry, but she might’ve for all he knew.

“A cup of tea used to cheer Eliza up,” Alexander mumbled, turning to the mice in the cage. “Does that still cheer her up?”

One of the mice padded its way to the glass Alexander was sitting by and peered at him.

“Should I take that as a yes? I don’t want her to be sad when I get back. I would’ve tried with the tea earlier, but we don’t have any in the break room. I guess I should probably get some, but you know.” Alex placed a finger against the glass, right over the mouse’s face.

The mouse moved aside so it could continue gazing at Alex.

He took that as a yes.

“I guess we should head out, shouldn’t we?” Alex asked the mouse as he stood up. He packed a few more things like underwear and bras before zipping up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He winced slightly, a bruise obviously beginning to form on his shoulder. However, he was fine. Worse had happened.

Once scooping the mouse cage up in his arms, he made his way to the door and let out a sigh.

He didn’t want to deal with Tench again, but if he had to, he would.

“Okay, we’re doing this,” Alexander spoke to himself before making his way out of the room.


	10. Chapter 10

When the trio arrived at Angelica’s house in Upper Manhattan, Angelica had invited Eliza’s entourage to stay for dinner. Angelica had always been polite, but it was something Eliza didn’t exactly expect. Usually, when Angelica was being cordial, she was really finding a way to indirectly get information from someone, and that was exactly what Angelica was doing.

All during dinner, Angelica asked about “the brave man that went to confront Eliza’s asshole of an ex-fiance”. Angelica knew that the men withheld information about Alexander, and being the good big sister she was, she wanted to approve of the man that seemed to pique Eliza’s interest.

Before supper commenced, Eliza desperately tried to talk Ange out of it. After all, she needed a break from men and Angelica practically wanted a background check on the guy. It was endearing and embarrassing at the same time.

However, Angelica asked anyway. She was a curious woman, so Eliza guessed it couldn’t have been helped.

Most of what was shared were things Alexander told her while they were dancing. He was twenty-eight, worked as a secretary under the COO of one of the biggest law firms in the city, and lived with the tall and well-groomed cutie sitting next to her. However, she did learn a bit more about him. He had a brother and a half, which was something Alexander skimped over in his shotty explanation of his heritage. From what she knew, his childhood wasn’t the greatest and she guessed he hadn’t had the heart to share it yet.

Dinner was nice, Eliza guessed, but what surprised her further was when Angelica asked them to stay for a while and talk. John, Angelica’s husband, seemed to take interest in the men as well. So, while they discussed their work with her sister and brother-in-law, Eliza waited.

It was a good hour without any indication of where Alexander was, and Eliza grew paranoid at the thirty-minute marker. Grabbing clothes and a tank full of mice shouldn’t have taken more than fifteen minutes and the drive to Angelica’s wasn’t all that long. So, she began to text him every few minutes, asking him if he was okay and where he was.

By the time it was around an hour and thirty minutes since she arrived, Eliza pardoned herself and walked into the foyer before making a call to Alexander.

To her immense relief, Alexander picked up almost immediately. “Sorry, my love. I couldn’t risk texting you while driving. I would’ve, but it’s dangerous.”

Alexander was right and she felt bad for sending so many texts, but he was driving the whole time? “It shouldn’t take you more than twenty minutes to get to Angelica’s house from mine. Did you make a pit stop or something? God, I was really worried.”

“No, I passed out,” Alexander informed her in a deterring tone. “There was a bit of a discrepancy… so, when I walk in, please don’t be scared of what I look like.”

Eliza had no idea what he meant, but from the tone he was using, it sounded like Alexander and Tench took it out on each other. Tench obviously won the fistfight. He knocked Alexander out!

“Oh God, Alex. How far are you—”

Alexander hung up on her, causing a frown to etch onto her face.

Before she could go to call back, there was a sturdy knock on the door.

Eliza opened the door almost immediately, finding an extremely pummeled Alexander standing there with a grin on his face.

A bruise was grazed along his shaven jaw, his eye swollen and purple. His nose, as well, was severely bruised and was bleeding.

“You seem excited to see me,” Alexander chuckled, holding the tank of mice out for her.

Eliza grasped onto it and sat the cage on the ground, not taking her eyes off of Alexander.

How was he smiling?

“Are you not in pain, Alex? Look at you!” Eliza grasped onto his arm and held it up, then grabbed the other. His arms were covered in differing shades of purple as well.

“I’m sore, but that’s about it,” Alexander answered, gazing at the bruises. He’d had worse. “Don’t worry about me, darling. How are you?”

Eliza really didn’t know how to reply. A measly bruise on her wrist did not compare to the complete and utter damage embracing Alexander’s entire body. “I’m fine, and how am I not supposed to worry about you?! God, he could’ve killed you!”

“Oh, holy shit!” Ramos suddenly gasped the minute he walked into the foyer. A look of surprise and amusement was on his face as he took in his friend’s battered form. “Gil, get in here!”

Not only Gilbert appeared in the foyer the minute he was beckoned, Angelica, John, and the dogs followed behind as well.

Alexander was a sight to be seen.

“How are you not dead?!” Gilbert laughed.

“My time hasn’t come yet, you haven’t seen the last of me.” Alexander let out a slight chuckle before placing a hand on his abdomen and ceasing. It somewhat hurt to laugh.

“Jesus Christ, Alexander,” Eliza cursed under her breath as she stepped aside. She tenderly pulled him into the house and went to take Alexander into a better lit room so she could more easily examine him until Angelica grabbed onto her arm.

“Want me to put the mouse cage somewhere?” Angelica inquired as she let go of Eliza and scooped the glass tank in her arms.

“Yes, please,” Eliza murmured before unloading the bag from Alexander’s shoulder and handing it to her brother-in-law.

“Want this in your room?”

“Yes! Thanks!”

Once she was no longer being spoken to, she pushed Alexander into the kitchen and stood in front him. “Shirt off, now. And why aren’t you wearing a coat? It’s freezing out there!”

Alexander was surprised with the maternal instinct erupting from Eliza. It was slightly amusing seeing her lecture him like she would with their boys when they were younger.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Obliging, Alexander peeled the shirt off, revealing all, bruises and scars.

What Eliza saw overwhelmed her and she wasn’t sure what was more concerning: the bruises littering his body or the scars that were scattered all over.

One scar caught her eye. It was below his rib, over his right hip.

Without any hesitation, Eliza reached out and ran her fingertips along the scar. A sense of dread filled her, pain, anguish. It was all so sudden but felt so eerily familiar.

“I got shot.”

Eliza looked up into Alexander’s eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks as soon as she tilted her head upward.

Feeling foolish, Eliza wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a slight chuckle. “Sorry. I really hate guns. All they seem to do is hurt people.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Alexander agreed, placing a hand on top of hers.

For the oddest reason, Eliza always hated guns and took up the role as an anti-gun activist at only sixteen. By eighteen, she ensured her dedication with a tattoo.

Remembering the ink on her shoulder blade, Eliza began to unbutton the white formalwear Alexander lent her so she could show him.

Alexander, on the other hand, was left clueless.

“What are you doing?” Alexander questioned as she shrugged her shirt off, letting it fall to her feet. Before he could ask her any other questions, she turned around and glanced over her shoulder.

On her shoulder was a rather large tattoo of a pistol. Erupting from its barrel was an assortment of flowers, all complementing each other. It was a beautiful tattoo.

Alexander was surprised that Eliza harbored so many past memories and didn’t even realize it.

“Woah, woah, woah!” A voice suddenly erupted, startling Eliza especially the minute her eyes landed on her older sister.

It was honestly nothing but an innocent exchange, but it could easily be taken out of context.

“I was just showing him my tattoo,” Eliza informed Angelica, smiling nervously as she reached down for the button down. “You see, he got shot and—”

“Uh-huh.” Angelica gave her a look of disbelief before looking over at Alexander. “Get your shirt on, boy.”

“No, don’t,” Eliza instructed, tugging the shirt on but leaving it unbuttoned. It shouldn’t have mattered anyway. Her body wasn’t a sexual object.

“What are you doing, Eliza?” Angelica groaned, placing her hands on her hips.

“I’m checking how badly he’s bruised,” Eliza answered promptly, turning back towards Alexander so she could look at his body. Still, the gunshot wound caught her eye. “Tench tore him up.”

The dominance in Angelica decreased as she watched the interaction between the two. Both Alexander and Eliza seemed incredibly relaxed, considering they met merely a week ago and they were both practically half undressed.

Angelica didn’t want to think it, but maybe her sister _was_ cheating on Tench like Peggy had told her.

Peggy wasn’t sticking blame on Eliza, she was simply repeating what Tench had told her.

Then again, Tench had no right to lay his hands on her baby sister.

The two looked so laid back. Alexander was leaning on the counter, letting Eliza’s eyes glide across his body while his eyes fell onto hers. He looked genuinely interested and even, dare Angelica say it, in love. Nothing but endearment glistened in his eyes as he looked at her. It was nice to see that someone had such admiration for her, but it still didn’t sit right.

Instead of staring at them longer, Angelica walked out of the room and allowed Eliza to clean him up.

“God, I would put some ice in the bathtub and let you soak in that but we don’t have enough,” Eliza chuckled, finally looking away from his body and into his eyes. She was gazing directly into two pools of endearment, making her heart skip a beat. Bruises and all, he was still extremely charming.

Alexander could feel some sort of tension between them and he was extremely tempted to put his hands on her hips and pull her in. However, he caught himself and withdrew his hands.

Oh how he wanted to embrace her.

Eliza noticed the hesitance in his eyes and she glanced down at his hands. They were at his sides, balled up.

“What?”

“I desperately want to hold you, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. You just got out of a relationship with Tench and I don’t want to cause any trouble.” Alexander smiled at her when she looked up at him.

She was glad he knew his boundaries. Some people, like Tench, didn’t and it was comforting to hear that some men actually cared. For the oddest reason, she really wouldn’t have minded. Alexander was right though. Only earlier, she broke up with Tench.

The two just so happened to have a magnetic attraction and it was kind of terrifying.

“Thank you, Alex.” Smiling back, Eliza went to grab a towel to wipe away the trail of dried up blood that was leaking from his nose.

“I have a question,” Alexander asked once Eliza returned with a wet towel and a few ice packs for Alexander to place on his face later.

“And what is that question?” Eliza cocked a brow before gently going in to wipe away the blood.

“Is this a one-sided attraction, or are you interested in me and just want to wait. I mean, if you just want to be friends too, that’s okay with me. I know a lot of guys say that but don’t take the rejection lightly, but I’m not like that… God, that’s something guys say too..” Alexander huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as she sat the towel aside and picked up the first of the ice packs.

Eliza was amused with his rambling. He could be so cute and it was refreshing, considering what she had to deal with only hours before.

Maybe it was rather swift, but moving on might’ve been a good thing.

“I—” Eliza couldn’t find herself to admit that she wanted to maybe go out on a date though. She wanted to, but it wasn’t the time. Not yet.

“You’re not ready?” Alex asked, practically reading her mind. He gently nudged a few stray hairs out of her eyes before placing a hand on her shoulder. “You need the time and it’s understandable. Don’t rush yourself into anything unless you’re comfortable with it.”

As Eliza pressed an ice pack to his cheek, a grin spread across her face. “Why are you so nice?” She groaned before taking another ice pack and placing it on his eye.

“I’m only really nice to you. I’m kind of a dick sometimes.” Alexander let out a laugh as he held up the ice packs pressed to his eye and jaw. “You just haven’t seen that side of me.”

“I doubt it,” Eliza laughed, pressing the last of the ice packs over his prominent nose.

“Are you two love birds done or what?”

John made his presence known once stepping into the kitchen. He looked from Alexander to Eliza, back to Alexander and shook his head with a chuckle emitting from him. “You two are terrible. Absolutely terrible.”

“What’s so terrible, Ramos?” Alexander asked as he grabbed his shirt from the counter. He couldn’t exactly pull it on with all of the ice packs on his face, so he sat them aside and pulled the shirt on before recollecting the ice packs. Then, he held them onto his face.

“I never thought I’d see you so helpless.” John clicked his tongue with a shake of the head before dismissing himself from the kitchen.

“Where am I going?” Alexander asked as he sat up straight and gazed down at Eliza with the only eye available.

“Living room, I guess.” Eliza grasped onto his arm with a gentle touch and began to tug him towards the destination. “You know, Angelica asked your friends a lot of questions about you. I tried to keep her from doing it, but she’s really nosey.”

“Oh God,” Alexander mumbled. “What did they say?”

“Most of it was stuff you already told me. But they did talk a little about your childhood.” Gazing over her shoulder, Eliza flashed Alexander a comforting smile. “Just little parts. I didn’t know you had brothers.”

“I don’t care to mention them because they don’t really care about me,” Alexander admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “Sometimes I forget about them. I’ll spare you the sob story for now, but I’ll tell you eventually.”

Once reaching the living room, Eliza found Alexander’s lounging around with wine glasses sitting all around. It appeared that they were going to be staying for a while.

Eliza aided Alexander with sitting down and once he was comfortable, she went to sit down. Alexander, however, grabbed her arm and sat the ice packs aside so he could button up her shirt.

A blush crept onto Eliza’s cheeks when she realized that it was still unbuttoned. While she was comfortable with Alex, she didn’t know how to feel about the other men, even Angelica’s husband. She felt like the female body needed to be desexualized, yes, but she also realized that men could be asshats and harass her. Eliza thought higher of all of the men in there, but she never knew.

Eliza sat next to Alexander once she was all buttoned up and grabbed an ice pack so she could hold it to his jaw.

“What were you two doing in there?” Gilbert questioned with a humorous lilt in his tone.

“I was just showing him my tattoo, that’s all,” Eliza informed with somewhat short wit. She got flustered every once in awhile and it was one of those times.

“Just leave her alone for right now, Gil.” Alexander glanced at his friend before planting an ice pack over his swollen eye.

“So, Alexander. You’re a mystery to us. Your friends filled me in a bit, but I want to hear it from you. Tell me about yourself.” Angelica launched back in the chair she was sitting in and brought the rim of her wine glass to her lips. After taking a swig, she sat the glass aside and looked directly into Alexander’s eye.

“Where do I start?” Alexander glanced at Eliza and chuckled. She was right.

“Childhood, where did you grow up.”

Alexander froze.

Did he tell the truth or lie like he always did when it came to something as trivial as his horrid past.

“I grew up on Nevis and moved here when I was in my later teenage years. They thought I’d find a better education here, so they sent me.” Alexander flashed a smile at Angelica and straightened his posture before his eyes fell to the floor.

He could only hope that she didn’t ask any other questions about his past.

Before Angelica could ask any other question, however, a pair of dogs made their way into the room and charged towards Eliza as soon as they saw her.

Hopping onto the couch, Pip placed himself in his lap. Angie, on the other hand, found Alexander and jumped on him before getting comfy.

He found it rather amusing.

“Eliza, get your dogs off of my couch,” Angelica spoke up as she sent her sister a cross look.

Eliza smirked. “They’re not on the couch, Angelica.”

Alexander was surprised by Eliza’s wit.

“I don’t think you’ve ever told me their names,” Alexander mentioned as the female dog rested her head on his stomach.

“You’re holding Angelica and I’ve got Philip,” Eliza informed Alexander in a humorous tone. “But to differentiate them from my father and sister, I call them Ange and Pip.”

Surprise filled Alexander when she mentioned that she named the dogs after their children. She didn’t see it that way, of course. But Alexander did and it pleased him. He knew it couldn’t be their actual children, but he did oftentimes wonder where they were and if they were okay.

He was sure they were.

“Alexander.”

The man’s head shot up, his eyes falling on the eldest of the beautiful Walker sisters. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Please continue telling me about yourself. You’re interesting.”

Alexander was surprised by the statement and simply shrugged. “After I came here, I went to Columbia university to study medicine—”

“I was too.”

Eliza smiled slightly at Alexander when he looked over at her in surprise.

“You were studying medicine at Columbia?” As Alexander spoke, his voice managed to crack.

They never discussed that, but Alexander was intrigued. How had he never seen her? How had he never had a class with her?

“Yeah! I mean, I’m two years younger than you, but I’m still surprised we didn’t run into each other at least once!” Eliza let out a beautiful laugh, making Alexander smile.

Maybe it was because Alexander dropped medicine sophomore year so he could study something else, but the libraries were the same. How didn’t they bump into each other?

Alexander cursed himself for it.

What if he spotted her earlier? What if they could’ve started earlier, found each other earlier, loved earlier? What if Eliza didn’t have to worry about Tench?

“Alex,” Eliza’s gentle voice beckoned, her free hand resting on his forearm.

Blinking a couple of times helped Alexander drift out of his fog. “Sorry, I was thinking. I’m getting a bit tired as well, but I’m fine—”

“Maybe we should go then,” Gilbert spoke up, setting his half-drunken wine glass aside. He stretched his legs out slightly before standing up from the couch.

Ramos stood up as well, nudging Alexander with his foot as he did. “Come on, punching bag.”

“You really don’t have to go.” Eliza glanced from Alex to his friends and pouted her bottom lip. Alex just arrived. She knew that it was getting late, but she enjoyed the man’s company. She didn’t know when she would see him again with clashing work schedules, but they would figure something out, she guessed.

“It’s okay, Eliza,” Alexander assured, setting the ice packs aside.

“I’ll get those,” Angelica offered, standing up to fetch them.

After Angelica left the room for a brief moment, John Bark walked up to the two other men and began to talk, allowing Alexander and Eliza to have a moment to themselves.

“Alexander?” Eliza sat the dog in her lap aside, as well as the one in Alexander’s. She stood up swiftly, holding her hands out to help Alexander up.

“Yes, my love?” Alexander gratefully took them and stood up with her aid.

Eliza didn’t let go of his hands. Instead, she ran the pads of her thumbs over the tops of his hands. “When are you going to tell me the truth?”

When Eliza looked up at him with her brown, doe eyes, a smile flickered onto his face. If he could at that moment, he would’ve. He would’ve told her _everything_. However, he needed to wait.

“I’ll tell you the truth when you decide that you think you want to date me. I’ll tell you everything. Okay?” Alexander reached up to cup her cheek with one hand and pressed his lips to the other before pulling away. “Just give it a week. Tell me how you feel in a week, okay? And if you want to hang out and do things in between, I’m just a phone call away.”

The plan sounded good, so Eliza nodded in approval. “I’ll definitely set something up with you, maybe something this weekend?”

Alexander grinned. “Sounds perfect.”

Pulling his hand from her grasp was something Alexander didn’t want to do, but he knew that he’d have to eventually. However, before Alexander could walk away, Eliza grasped it.

He turned back around and inched a little closer. “Is there something going on…?”

“I just wanted to thank you so much,” Eliza practically mused, her cheeks heating up. “I am not a maiden in need of defending, but what you did was really kind and I greatly appreciate it.”

“Anything for you.” After pressing a kiss to her knuckles, he pulled away from her and muttered a good night.

While the men mozied to the front door, Eliza stayed behind.

“What’s the truth, Eliza?” Angelica inquired as she walked towards her sister. She heard the conversation, but she didn’t want to intrude.

Eliza glanced back, sparing her sister a smile before turning back around to watch Alexander leave. She crossed her arms over her chest and giggled quietly before shaking her head.

“I wish I knew, Angelica.”


	11. Chapter 11

It was almost impossible for Eliza to get any sort of sleep that night for reasons unknown. There was always a possibility that it was due to the fact that she took a rather long nap earlier in the day. However, she was tired out by the time she went to go to sleep.

She just couldn’t sleep.

There were times where she would slip in and out of it, annoyed by the fact that she couldn’t get more than two minutes of shut eye. That wasn’t any sort of sleep, though. It wasn’t even a nap.

So, instead of trying to fall asleep, she decided that she might’ve needed to tire herself out first.

In attempts to exhaust herself, she tried almost everything. A jog at the dead of night, guzzling down heated up milk, taking a soothing bath with lavender Epsom salts, none of them worked.

By six in the morning, which was an hour before she had to get up, Eliza finally zonked out, cuddling with her puppy children.

Angelica, being the nice sister she was, decided to let Eliza sleep in. She tucked a note under her little sister’s phone for her to find when she awoke. Then, she left Eliza alone in the house.

John had already left for work.

Eliza finally roused at around 11:30, which was typically when she had her lunch break. At first, she panicked. Already missing a day of work put everyone behind just slightly and she couldn’t spare another day off. So, in a blind madness to get ready, she began to scramble to get ready.

It wasn’t until her phone began to ring that she stopped.

Angelica’s caller ID was displayed at the top of Eliza’s screen, causing her to grit her teeth slightly in anxiousness. She was afraid of receiving a stern lecture from her older sister, not knowing that Angelica was behind her late awakening.

“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Eliza apologized profusely into the phone as she pulled a ballet flat over her heel. “I should be there in ten, maybe fifteen minutes! I promise!”

“Eliza, would you take it easy?” Angelica laughed into the phone, causing Eliza’s whirlwind-ish behavior to cease. “I didn’t wake you up because you looked exhausted. I mean, I could use help in an hour or so, but I have everything under control, okay?”

Plopping on the bed, Eliza let out a huff. She actually had the time to get ready.

“Oh, okay—”

“Well, actually… your knight in shining armor just walked in. He probably wants to talk to you.”

Eliza cocked a brow as she ran her hand along Pip’s back. “Is he there?”

“Yeah, he looks real dapper too.” The older sister let out a giggle. “You better come down here and see what he wants.”

Given that Eliza was completely dressed at that point, she probably should’ve just gone. However, her hair wasn’t the cleanest and she had no makeup on.

 _Whatever_ , Eliza thought to herself. _I’ll just tie my hair up_.

“I’ll be there soon,” Eliza promised Angelica, “I love you!”

After hanging up, Eliza turned to the dog whose head was in her lap and smiled when he glanced up at her with his big, brown eyes.

“Hey, Pip. How are you?”

The dog stood up in response, his tail wagging rapidly as Eliza vigorously itched his back.

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Standing up, Eliza grasped the dog and placed him on the ground. Angelica didn’t exactly like the dogs on her furniture and who was Eliza to be completely defiant of her sister?

“Did you like the guy last night, Pip?” Eliza asked the dog as she trailed her way to the kitchen. She was simply going to grab a granola bar and go; if Alexander was there, it must’ve been something incredibly important.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Eliza found Ange hastily eating her food. A frown etched onto her face as she approached her. She wasn’t supposed to eat so fast.

“Ange, what are you doing?”

The dog glanced back at Eliza, panting as she turned around and padded her way towards her mother.

“You know you’re not supposed to eat so fast and—” When Eliza glanced over, she noticed that Ange was eating the cat food.

Eliza loved Angelica dearly, but she liked to get in trouble.

“Come on, girl,” Eliza muttered, deflated. As she crouched down, she placed a hand on the Terrier’s head and began to rub it. “You know which food is yours and you know you can’t eat that fast. I hate doing this, but you don’t get a treat tonight. You’re not being a good girl.”

After placing a kiss on the dog’s head, Eliza stood back up and briskly walked to the pantry so she could grab a granola bar and go.

Ange whined as Eliza grabbed her breakfast. Afraid that something might’ve happened, Eliza looked over and rose a brow at the dog. She was faking an injury to win sympathy from Eliza.

The dogs were incredibly smart and it cracked Eliza up.

“You are not hurt, you little trickster,” Eliza laughed as she opened the package and headed out of the kitchen. “You can’t fool me!”

At the door, Eliza shrugged on her coat after setting down her breakfast and let her purse drape from her left shoulder before grabbing the bar, taking a bite, and opening the door.

As the winter breeze hit her, so did a question.

Why was Alexander at the bakery?

She guessed she would find out.

* * *

“I think you’re right.”

The vagueness of Angelica’s statement was enough to cause Peggy to cock an eyebrow. Turning to her sister, she placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“Right about what?”

Angelica glanced up from what she was doing so she could look at her youngest sister. “Eliza cheating.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Peggy exclaimed as she threw her flour-covered hands in the air. “I _never_ said that. _I_ said Tench thought she was. I told you that they kissed. They both looked extremely shocked when it happened, so I really doubt they were cheating. You took what I said the wrong way…” Peggy went to go back to work, but a question popped into her head and she couldn’t help but ask. So, she turned around to look back at Angelica. “Why would you say that anyway?”

“Well…” Angelica swiftly walked to the sink and washed her hands. “Last night, Alexander came over to give Eliza her clothes. They ended up in the kitchen because Tench beat him up—”

“Obviously, I saw him sitting out there.”

“—and Eliza said she wanted to clean him up.” Angelica let out a breathy chuckle, moving over to grab ingredients to make a buttercream pie. “I walked in a few moments later, finding both Eliza and Alexander half naked. I mean, her back was turned to him, but—”

“Angelica.” Peggy sent her older sister a stern look before kneading some dough. “You don’t know what happened so you shouldn’t make assumptions about your own sister. That’s called gossiping. How would you like it if Eliza and I discussed your marital issues with John?”

When Angelica realized what she was doing, guilt loomed over her. “I’m sorry.”

“Apologize to Eliza, not me.” Shrugging, Peggy turned back around to do her work.

While Angelica and Peggy were in the kitchen, baking, Alexander sat in the seating area, annotating the last few pages of a book he’d been reading. It could be considered somewhat narcissistic for him to read a book about himself, but he wanted to determine its accuracy. The book was rather dead on, but Ron Chernow asserted that Alexander Hamilton was an abolitionist when he clearly wasn’t. When he was annotating it, he would grumble to himself about how annoying it was for Ron to be so sure that Alexander fought against slavery. Of course Alexander looked down upon it, but he made transactions for Philip Schuyler in regards to buying slaves. Alexander admitted that he was a pretty shitty person for not taking more action against it, which was why it upset Alexander so much. He didn’t deserve the title of an abolitionist.

Thankfully, that was the real only problem with the book. Otherwise, it was amazing by how spot on the biography was. Alexander had read several in his time, but the one composed by Ron Chernow was most informing and accurate.

Finally finishing the last of his annotations, Alexander set his pen aside and closed the book. Then, he reached into his satchel and pulled out a letter that he wrote for Eliza. Well, two were in the envelope. One was the letter that Tench destroyed and the other was a letter containing only seven words, excluding his signature.  

After lodging the envelope in the front of the book, Alexander slipped it into his satchel and sat it aside.

Then, he waited.

Eliza arrived about ten minutes after Alexander put the book away, announcing her presence with a loud, “I’m here!”

Several of the customers that were sitting down were startled, so she turned to them and began apologizing profusely until her eyes fell on Alexander. He was sitting there, adorned in a newsboy cap and a nice looking, tan coat. He was leaned against the table, chin resting on his knuckles as he gazed at her with admiration in his eyes.

“I’ll be there in a moment, Alexander,” Eliza affirmed with a smile before making her way into the kitchen.

“Tench came by earlier,” Angelica informed Eliza, not turning around to greet her.

“Did he?” Eliza placed her purse on the hook on the wall before sliding off her coat. “What did he say?”

“He gave me his letter of resignation.” Finally turning around, Angelica smiled at her sister in an endearing fashion. “I told him it was probably best if he did.”

“He didn’t put up a fight at all? Oh, and can you help me tie this like yours? It looks nice.” Eliza turned around for Angelica’s aid in tying her apron, but Peggy came up behind her and tied the bow to where it was voluminous like the other two’s.

“He looked really defeated, but I told him that he deserved it for being such a cunning, conniving little—”

“Language, I’m sure the customers can hear you,” Eliza lectured, moving swiftly to the sink so she could get ready to work. “Anyways, why is Alexander here?”

“He said he was here for two things. The first reason was because he wanted to support the business. The second reason is because he wants to talk to you.” Angelica wiggled her brows, a smirk growing on her face.

Eliza rolled her eyes after glancing back at Angie. “What’s with the expression?”

“He wants to take you to a coffee shop and discuss things privately. So, you can just hand me back that apron.” Angelica held out a slender hand, causing Eliza to cock her head in confusion.

Only the night before, she seemed suspicious of their platonic actions. Why did it change?

Hesitantly untying the apron and placing it in Angelica’s hands, Eliza slowly backed out of the kitchen.

Although Eliza wanted to talk with Alexander, she had work. She’d missed the day before and she probably couldn’t afford to miss another day. She was her own boss, but it was still important for her to be there and help her sisters out. If not, she’d have to hire more people. She was getting a nice amount of money, people loved Walker’s bakery, but more employees meant less money for everyone. Eliza, Peggy, and Angelica lived off of the money they received from working there, as well as Tench. But with Tench resigning, they were down an employee and that wasn’t good.

“Alex.” Eliza sat across from the man and smiled at him as soon as he greeted her with a kiss to her knuckles.

“Betsey.” He pulled her hand father into his grasp and glanced at the bruise on her wrist. “It’s looking better already.”

“I need to talk to you,” Eliza murmured, stress in her undertone.

“Is something the matter?” Alexander’s eyebrows knitted together in a worried expression, his good eye boring into her.

“Well, it’s about us… you, really.” When she realized that it sounded as if what she was going to say was bad, she reached out to place a hand on his forearm. “It’s not a bad thing! I just don’t think I can go out and talk to you right now. I wasn’t here yesterday and I need to be here today because Tench resigned—”

“He worked here…? Well, it makes sense since he bought the place…” Alexander’s eye fell on Eliza and it widened when he realized he cut her off. “Sorry, I think out loud a lot. Continue.”

“Yeah, he came in later in the day, usually did dishes in the afternoon. Made decorations… He really didn’t bake, but that’s beside the point. What I’m saying is that I really don’t want to turn you down but I live off of the paychecks I give myself and I can’t lose any more money. If you get me.” Eliza spared Alexander a sympathetic smile.

“If money is the issue, I’m willing to pay you the money you’ll lose for as long as you’re talking to me. What I need to tell you is almost vital, if you will. I mean, if you really _cannot_ go, then we can talk later in the evening. I’m okay with that but if it’s the money, let me give you some for your time.” Alexander didn’t know if it sounded offensive in any way but he hoped it didn’t. However, that book was very important for her to learn the truth, for her to remember. She needed to remember.

Eliza looked at Alexander, huffing. She didn’t know what to do. “I don’t want you to pay me to spend time with you. I really do enjoy your company and that’s enough for me—”

“Eliza, you know you’re still on your lunch break!” Angelica called from the kitchen, causing the realization to hit her.

No wonder Alexander wasn’t at work.

“Well, I guess I could go and talk to you about this ‘vital information’.” Eliza patted his arm before dismissing herself.

“He was willing to pay you. I cannot believe him,” Peggy giggled under her breath as soon as Eliza reached the kitchen again. “That poor man is desperate.”

“He says he has information that’s really important to me. He talks about things that I don’t understand and he says that he would tell me the truth if I’d let him. I really have no idea what he’s going on about, but I’m interested. He said he’d only tell me if I was serious about being in a relationship with him and I’m making up my mind pretty soon. Like, in the next few weeks.”

“ _Relationship_ relationship?” Peggy looked surprised.

“Well, dating, taking things slow. That’s what I mean. But he basically wants me to understand what I’d get myself into if I start dating him.” Grasping onto her purse and putting the apron away, Eliza sighed. “Off I go. I’ll be back soon.”

“Have fun, babe!” Angelica said before going back to work.

By the time Eliza stepped out of the kitchen, Alexander was at the door, waiting for her. As she walked around the counter, Alex smiled and pushed the door open. “Ladies first.”

“Which coffee shop?” Eliza inquired as soon as she stepped out on the street. There was one next door, which Eliza assumed was the one they were going to go to, but she didn’t know. They had a mean cup of coffee, but it was somewhat rundown.

Then Eliza reminded herself that it wasn’t a date and that it was worth the visit.

Like Eliza assumed, Alexander gestured to the small coffee shop right next to Walker’s Bakery. “Is this any good, or would you rather go to a Starbucks?”

“No, this is fine. The coffee here is better than Starbucks anyway,” Eliza assured as she grasped onto Alexander’s wrist and tugged him behind her. “It’s just a hole in the wall.”

As soon as the door opened, an erupting salutation rang through the shop. It looked as if Eliza and Alexander were the only people there, but the dimly lit café could’ve possibly had customers hidden away in corners.

“Oh, Eliza! We’re so glad you came!” A Latina woman shorter than both of them exclaimed as she walked around the counter. She hastily made her way up to them and stopped when her chocolate-colored eyes fell on Alexander. “Dios mío, what happened to you? And where is Tench? Such a sweetheart.”

Alexander laughed at the woman’s proclamation but apologized for the outburst as soon as he realized that both women were staring at him.

“The bruises are a product of Tench’s anger.” Alexander flashed an awkward smile before holding his hand out. “Alexander Madea. I’m an acquaintance of Eliza’s.”

“Friend, Alexander. You can use the ‘f’ word,” Eliza chuckled.

“Catarina Rodriguez. Many people call me Mamá.” She shook his hand before pulling him into a nearly bone-crushing hug, making him wince in pain.

When she realized that she must’ve hurt Alexander, Mamá stepped back and frowned. “Tench must have really hurt you… Oh! Sit down! Please! I will get you coffee, on me!”

“Mamá,” Eliza spoke under her breath. “We insist on paying.”

“ _I_ insist on paying,” Alexander asserted, earning him a look of defiance on Eliza’s behalf. “You can pay next time.”

Content settled its way on Eliza’s face before she looked back at Mamá. “Really, please let us pay. The store needs it.”

The look that crossed Mamá’s face almost looked like shame, but Eliza’s determined demeanor caused the elder to nod. “I’ll be back and I want to catch up.”

With that, Mamá disappeared into the kitchen and Alexander and Eliza sat themselves down at a table.

“If this place doesn’t get more money soon, it’s going to close down. It’s a shame, the coffee is really good and she does all of the work herself. She’s had to lay everyone off.” Eliza sighed as soon as she sat down. In an act of chivalry, Alexander pushed her chair in before sitting down himself. “Well, her husband helped as well but he died a year ago.”

Alexander hated the fact that a local Latinx business was threatening to close down. The representation was so important, he had learned. So, if he had the chance to support it, he was going to. “I’ll talk to my boss about buying coffee here instead of Starbucks. Catarina is so nice.”

“Oh, please do, Alexander! You don’t understand how much this coffee shop means to her. She can retire and be comfortable with the money she has, but this place is her baby and she wouldn’t be able to stand to see it fail.” Eliza took grasp of Alexander’s hand involuntarily. “It would mean the world to her.”

“I’ll talk with George once I get back to work,” Alexander promised as Mamá walked up to them with a pot of coffee.

“So, how did you end up so bruised, Alexander?” Mamá asked as she placed the pot of coffee on the table. “And why was Tench so mean to you?”

Eliza didn’t want to have that talk yet, but it was inevitable. “I broke up with Tench after he started acting possessive, and frankly, abusive. He’s been acting weird since we got engaged and I think I’m lucky that I figured it out before it was too late. Now, Tench really started acting weird when I began hanging around Alexander. Then he got possessive and all of this mess happened. So, yeah. Alex helped me out and Tench got angry and took it out on him.”

Mamá looked surprised. “Oh my… I am so sorry, Eliza. You deserve much better than that.”

Eliza smiled at the compliment, but let her head hang. He was supposed to be her only love. That was okay, though. I could tell it was coming for a while.

“Alexander,” Mamá exclaimed, turning to him. “How are you?”

He flashed a smile at the woman. “I’m great. By the way, I have a question. Do you sell your coffee in bulk?”

Her brown eyes widened in surprise. “We do, but no one ever buys it. They prefer Starbucks or whatever is ‘boujie’. Why?”

“Well,” Alexander cleared his throat, “I am going to take it up with my boss first, but I want to start buying your coffee for our law firm. We would love to support you and your dream.” After smiling at the woman, Alexander took a sip. Sure enough, the coffee was amazing. “How much do you have in stock?”

Mamá practically gasped, a grin spreading across her face. “Let me go check!” she said as she scrambled off for the kitchen.

With the time they had alone, Alexander turned back to Eliza and smiled at her before reaching for his satchel. Once taking a hold of the heavily annotated book, Alexander slid it towards her.

Eliza was clearly confused. The mention of Alexander Hamilton, yet again made her somewhat worried. “What about him?”

“I want you to read this,” Alexander explained. “And as soon as you finish, I want you to call me. Then we can start making plans for us to meet up and discuss the truth.”

Eliza looked from the book to Alexander. “I am so confused.”

Alexander knew she would be, but that was okay. Hopefully, she’d remember. Hopefully, something would trigger a memory. He never knew, though.

“Read the book. Think about your choices. Then call me. It might not make sense now, but I want you to be enlightened and hopefully you will be. If not, you’ll just think I’m nuts.” A smile played on Alexander’s lips as he sat up. “Also, there’s two letters in there for you. Hopefully, they’ll make you happy.”

“I’m still—”

“I have several cans!” Mamá said, walking back towards the two.

While Alexander and Mamá discussed the coffee, Eliza focused on the cover of the biography of Alexander Hamilton. The man had a familiar face, more familiar than just seeing it in a history book in high school, more familiar than the bronze statues of Alexander Hamilton erected in different places in New York.

The feeling was, indeed, enlightening, but it was still too distant.

The envelope was sticking out of the book, so Eliza fetched it and opened it almost immediately. The first letter that fell out of the envelope was identical to the letter Eliza received only days before, which made her smile.

However, the other letter was much more ominous.

 _This book shouts the truth._  
  
Ever yours  
  
\- A H 

Eliza didn’t know what that meant, but she was excited to find out. 


	12. Chapter 12

A solemness had taken over Alexander within the past couple of days, a feeling of rejection coursing through him. Maybe he wasn’t right for handing over the book to Eliza. Maybe starting over and leaving the past behind would’ve been a better plan. It’d been over a week since Eliza contacted him and it was eating away at him.

Both of his friends noticed the deflation in Alexander. John was especially worried since the two were so close despite living apart. He’d never seen Alexander so depressed and even began to spend the night with Alexander just to make sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

The morale was low in the apartment that the three were lodged into due to Alexander’s attitude. He wished he wasn’t so upset but Alexander lived and breathed for Eliza. He didn’t know what he would do if he never got another phone call from her.

It was a Saturday, early in the day. The men were off of work and hanging out at the apartment. While Gilbert was sorting his things into boxes, John sat with Alexander, playing video games. As per usual, Alexander was mumbling under his breath incoherently, and although John usually tuned the sound out, he swore he could hear his friend say, “better off dead”.

John paused the game, setting his controller aside before grabbing Alexander’s and flinging it onto the couch. He was sick of hearing Alexander whine and moan about Eliza. Constantly, everything was about Eliza. She was a nice girl, John gave her that, but if she really cared about Alexander, she wouldn’t have been ignoring him.

“Alexander, what the fuck are you doing with yourself?” John seethed, wanting to calm down when he saw that Alexander was quite shocked with him. However, his fiery demeanor wouldn’t allow it. “You’re pining over an engaged woman who clearly doesn’t care about you.”

Alexander never expected such an eruption from John aimed towards him. They’d always been so loving and playful towards each other. Sure, they’d had their share of disagreements, but John almost seemed livid towards him and that wasn’t what he needed.

“John, I need her. She’s my cure-all. She makes my world spin. She—”

“Met you two and a half weeks ago, Alexander! You can’t be in love with her! You just met her!” John stood up, glaring down at Alexander. “You need to move the fuck on.”

“You don’t understand, John,” Alexander spoke quietly, trying to withhold his temper. He never wanted to raise his voice at his best friend. However, he was close to. John was only making him feel worse.

“I think I do. I think that the first time you saw her, you were infatuated with her, not in _love_. You want to fuck her, date her, whatever. It’s turning into an obsession, Alexander! Frankly, it’s kind of fucking sickening watching you wait around for her to call or text. You need to get a fucking grip and move on. She doesn’t matter!” John yelled, earning Gilbert’s attention from the other room.

Finally, Alexander snapped. He stood up, chest puffed with assertion. “I have waited too goddamn long for Eliza to let her go again! I’ve loved her since I laid my eyes on her those several years ago. I can’t just let go of twenty-three years of marriage, eight and a half kids, and a loss of a son! I can’t fucking do it! If you and everyone else remembered, then you would fucking understand! Everyone would understand!”

For the first time in awhile, Alexander broke down in tears. It was rare for him to do so in front of his friends due to his puffed up ego. He was just so tired of feeling like he was crazy.

“You’re twenty-eight, Alexander. Get a fucking grip, dude.” John stormed off to Alexander’s room and slammed the door behind him.

Alexander felt so alone in that moment. No one understood as far as he knew, automatically making him look insane to everyone else. John thought he was ballistic. He was watching his friend count drop and it was disheartening.

Collapsing onto the couch, Alexander hunched over and began to sob, practically inconsolable.

Gilbert, however, wanted to try and cheer his friend up anyway.

Stealthily moving over to the couch, Gil took a seat next to Alexander and wrapped an arm around his little friend. “What do we not understand? Care to enlighten me?”

Alexander lifted his head, peering over at Gilbert. The man looked sympathetic but strong.

“You’ll think I’m crazy.”

Gilbert just shrugged. “You’ll be my friend nonetheless. Share.”

Taking a deep breath, Alexander straightened his posture and turned back to Gil. “I’m Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary of the United States. I know this, I remember _everything_ , Gil. I remember things that aren’t even in history books. We reincarnate, our soul relocates. Most people don’t remember, obviously, and I am the exception and it fucking sucks because no one else remembers!” A cry overtook Alexander.

Gilbert didn’t know how to reply. He didn’t remember anything, but he didn’t want to deny Alexander. So, he patted his back and decided to ask, “Who was I?”

“The Marquis de Lafayette, major general. I found it ironic that you dressed up as a major general for the party.” Alexander sniffed, attempting to wipe up his tears. “In all of my lifetimes, I’ve always found you. Never did I ever find anyone else. I mean, you were much younger than me until now, but I always found you. In my last lifetime, I found Eliza but she was a child and I was an adult. Now, we’re only two years apart like before. You’re younger than me. John is only a couple of months older than me. The stars are aligned, Gil. I have to make her remember.”

What Alexander said resonated within Gilbert, making him think that _just maybe_ Alexander wasn’t crazy and with his little friend being terrible at lying, it made it even more convincing with how genuine the man was.

“Life isn’t worth living without Eliza in it and I can’t run away from it because I’ll just reincarnate, yet again.”

“Alex, please don’t think that way. You have an amazing life, an amazing job, us. We love you, Alexander. John and I love you. You’re our best friend.” Gilbert grasped onto Alexander’s hand. “I don’t know what to say about the reincarnation ordeal because I don’t know what’s happening in your brain, so I can’t take a stance. I’m not religious, so I’m open to anything, really.”

“God, I just wished I didn’t remember—”

A sudden knock on the door interrupted Gilbert from comforting him and cut Alexander off mid-sentence. He stood from the couch and patted his friend on the shoulder before heading towards the door.

Gil opened the door and to his surprise, Eliza was standing there with a thick book in hand. “Speak of the devil.”

Eliza rose a brow at Gilbert. “Hello to you too. Where’s Alexander? I really need to apologize to him.”

When looking past Gil, she found Alexander sitting there, a look of astonishment crossing his face.

The fact that Eliza was standing there both terrified and excited him.

“Oh, Alex!” Eliza ran right past Gilbert and climbed over the couch so she could get to him faster. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

“D-do you remember?” Alexander stammered as he hugged her back. “Are you remembering?”

Eliza pulled her head from his chest and smiled, then frowned. She didn’t know how to explain how she felt, but she knew that she needed to apologize. “I want to say that I’m sorry about not calling or texting you. I was just so immersed in the book and I couldn’t waste a second. It’s so thick… I probably would’ve finished it sooner, but work.” She shrugged before reinforcing her hug. “Will you forgive me?”

Alexander was practically worried sick over her. He felt foolish for doubting her, so he nodded. “Yes. Of course. What did you think?”

Eliza sat there. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t know how to say it. “I don’t know what you mean by ‘remember’, but I feel connected to it on a personal level, if that’s what you mean?”

Alexander felt like that would’ve been the case, which only made him realize that he was going to have to move on to Plan B.

“Would you mind if we moved to my room? If it makes you uncomfortable, we can leave the door open. I just feel like the more privacy, the better.” Alexander flashed a half smile.

Eliza looked around, noticing that Gil was no longer standing at the front door, but he was in his room with the door open. Maybe it would’ve been nice to have the privacy, so Eliza nodded. “Sure.”

“Okay, let me just kick John out first.” Letting out an awkward chuckle, Alexander nudged Eliza aside and stood up. “We just had a fight and… yeah. But yeah. Let me do that.”

Once approaching his bedroom door, Alexander opened it and peered in. John was sitting on the bed, facing the wall. “Are you done being an asshole?”

John turned around, the fire in his eyes extinguished. He looked defeated. “I don’t want you to fall in love.”

“I’ve been in love for a while, John. I’m not falling out of it anytime soon.” Alexander smiled sympathetically. At times it seemed apparent that John probably liked Alexander a little bit more than a friend would, but John never addressed it. However, Alexander didn’t feel the same and that was surely why.

“Make sure you save time for your friends, Alex.” Standing up, John let out a sigh. “I’ll just help Gil with packing. I’m moving my stuff in before too long anyway.”

“Okay.” Alexander stepped aside to let John out of the room. “Thank you for cleaning my room, by the way.”

John shrugged as he made his exit. “Of course. Have fun with your lady friend.”

Once John was helping Gil pack up, the two migrated to Alexander’s room and he shut the door behind him.

They both took a seat on the bed, Eliza sitting in close proximity. Over the course of about a week and a half, Eliza had a lot of time to think and she decided that maybe it was good for her to experiment with Alexander and see how things went. Thrill and excitement filled her with the thought of new love, and she was ready to dive in.

Alexander might’ve seemed a bit off, but Eliza liked that. He was extremely intelligent and she appreciated it. Not only was he smart, he was also sweet and witty. She needed someone like that and that was what Alexander offered.

“Tell me about your childhood, Alex. I’m trying to figure it out for myself, but I’m clueless.”

Eliza seemed so enthused with everything, which was good on Alexander’s behalf. He was ready to share, ready to enlighten her.

“This is going to sound eerily familiar, but I swear to god it’s true.” Alexander crossed his heart as a sign of reassurance.

“Go on,” Eliza giggled.

“My mother, Rachel, fled to Nevis from Puerto Rico, trying to get away from her first husband. He was highly abusive, she used to tell me. When doing so, she found a nice man and she fell in love with him, my father, James. He also moved from Puerto Rico to find better business, which was a huge risk.” Alexander shook his head. “He did it anyway. They fell in love, my mother would always tell me, and they quickly engaged after they found out that my mother was pregnant with JJ, James Jr. They couldn’t get married because my mother couldn’t get her husband to sign the divorce papers, which sucked but didn’t matter all that much. Two years later, I was born. In between that and my tenth year, things were pretty easy. I had good parents, a decent education, a ton of books to read. Things began to go down when I turned ten.” Alexander’s eyes fell to the ground.

“My dad left my mother without reason. We came home one day and he just wasn’t there and it hurt. It _really_ hurt. I loved my dad. My mom loved my dad. James loved our dad. I thought that the pain would be over. I started helping Mom out at her little café at home. James rarely helped out and I still resent him for that, but beside the point. Two years after my dad left, both my mother and I came down with a mortal illness. I thought I was going to die. It was horrid.”

Alexander stifled a cry. He was a strong man and tried to push away his childhood, but when reminiscing, it was hard not to cry. “When my delirium lifted and I was feeling better, I found out that Mom had died. She couldn’t make it through.”

“Alexander Hamilton,” Eliza whispered, her hand reaching for his. Once she grasped it, she entwined their fingers. “Your life practically parallels Alexander Hamilton’s.”

“I am Alexander Hamilton, dear. You just don’t know the whole truth yet.” Alexander squeezed her hand.

Eliza turned to Alexander, a great deal of concentration evident on her face. It looked as if she was trying to remember something, but retired when she had nothing. Her eyes flickered onto his face. “What was it like when you met Elizabeth Schuyler?”

A grin overtook Alexander’s saddened expression. “The first time I saw her was when I was in Albany to discuss military matters with Horatio Gates. I found myself having supper with the esteemed Philip Schuyler and a few of his family members, including the beautiful Elizabeth Schuyler.” As Alexander spoke, he held eye contact with Betsey. He managed to find her other hand, lacing their fingers together. “I knew I loved her then. However, when I parted that night, I was sure I would never see an angel like that again. Thankfully, I was mistaken. A couple of years later, while I was at Washington’s headquarters, I managed to spot her among all of the women at a ball George was hosting.” The grip on Eliza’s hand tightened slightly. “I danced with her all night, discussing personal matters, plans, dreams.” A fond look crossed his face. “I knew I wanted this woman to be mine and I was lovesick. It was terrible.”

The genuinity in Alexander’s tone made Eliza sure that he wasn’t just lying. There was no way. His eyes twinkled with familiarity of fond memories, the words seemed to ease off of his lips as if what he explained happened just the day before.

“And what was crossing your mind when you cheated on her?”

As heavy as the question was, it demanded to be asked.

The fond look on his face contorted into a look of anguish. “That was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made and I wrongly justified it, Eliza.” Tears sprung to his eyes at the thought of Eliza’s reaction. She was devastated. “I remembered the look on her face when I told her. She _broke_ and I couldn’t help but ask myself why I was so fucking stupid for doing that to her.”

A twinge of anger flickered in Eliza, her heart pounding at his admittance as if she was _that_ Eliza.

Little did she know that she was.

“Maria was tempting. She was hurt, she needed someone to emotionally support her. That was what she told me, but then she started touching me and I told myself to stop it. I didn’t. I should’ve. I would’ve never been tangled in that Reynolds situation if I wasn’t such an imbecile.”

Alexander had to give himself a minute. Tears were freely falling from his eyes, his heart aching at the memory. That was the past, he had to remind himself, and he would be smarter in the future. He would never do that to her again.

“She forgave me eventually, and I didn’t know why. I was an idiot that broke her heart. I didn’t deserve her forgiveness but she was so kind, loving.” Alexander turned back to look at Eliza. “Genial. I was lucky.”

As Eliza listened, distant memories spun around her. They were too far to grasp, but something was there.

“And what was she like when you died the first time?”

His tragic ending as Alexander Hamilton was probably why he remembered when everyone else didn’t. He was laying there, holding her when she cried and he promised her that they would meet again.

His promise was fulfilled in a way he never thought.

“Eliza blamed herself for not convincing me to negotiate a peace with Burr. She blamed herself and cursed God. I swore that we would be together again someday. I told her that was only a matter of time, but I never expected it to be two-hundred-and-thirteen years later.” Alexander chuckled, then glanced up at Eliza. She looked curious.

“Who’s your Eliza, Alexander?” She inquired, already knowing the answer.

“You.”

Despite knowing what he was going to say, Eliza couldn’t help but blush.

A silence crept into the room and consumed them for a while. As the quiet stood, they kept eye contact with each other. Hands were entwined, their kneecaps brushing. In that moment, Alexander could tell in her eyes that the memories were vague. However, they weren’t quite there. They were a dream to her, a dream he painted out. It wasn’t a reality yet, but it was getting there and he was glad of it.

He would feel a little less alone in the big, bad world.

Eventually, Eliza looked away to glance at their hands. Then, she said, “I think I’m going to take you up on that offer.”

The fact that Eliza wasn’t scared by Alexander’s outrageous proclamation was a victory for him, but he didn’t show it. He simply smiled and said, “You’ll date me?”

Eliza looked back up at him, a small smile etched on her face. “Yeah, I will. I want to learn more about the truth. The book doesn’t give enough detail, even with your annotations.”

Alexander just laughed before admitting, “I was planning on taking you on about a week-long trip if you’d let me. Just us and a car. A lot of it’s in New York, but there are some places that we’ll need to drive to. I call it, ‘The Truth: Part Two’.”

The proposition was tempting, but Eliza didn’t know how she was going to do it. She had a bakery to run, but then again, she had a loving family. She just wasn’t too sure how they’d react to her going off with Alexander like that.

“I’ll talk to my dad. Maybe he can work my shifts. I want to do this, Alex. I really do. It would be fun.”

“Well, let me know if you can. I kind of already took off work for this, but I’ll do it by myself and send pictures if you can’t, I don’t mind.” Alexander sometimes got ahead of himself. He was so sure she would say yes, despite the anxiety he had about her not calling back.

The visit was better than the phone call, though.

“By the way, have you seen Tench recently?”

“Tench Tilghman,” Eliza muttered under her breath before looking back into Alexander’s chestnut eyes. “No, thankfully. He mailed a letter apologizing, surprisingly. I think he was trying to copy you because he was trying really hard to make it very linguistic, and it just didn’t work.” She let out a laugh before standing up. Although she didn’t want to go, she needed to so she could sort things out for the possible trip. “I don’t want to leave, but I really need to,” she decided out loud.

Alexander would never make her stay. So, he stood up and walked towards the door and opened it for her. “M’lady.”

Eliza giggled before exiting the room. He followed, shutting his bedroom door behind them.

Once reaching the front door, Eliza turned to Alexander and glanced down at the book she grabbed upon leaving his bedroom. It wasn’t hers, but she loved the annotations. “Do you want this back?”

Alexander glanced down at the book and shook his head. “Keep it, please.”

Nodding, Eliza went to leave but stopped herself. She didn’t even say goodbye.

So, Eliza turned around and stood on her tiptoes so she could press her lips to his for a brief second. Then, she left with a, “Bye, Alex! I’ll call you.”

Shocked, Alexander stood there. He was practically frozen, surprised by the second-long kiss that was pressed to his lips. It was unexpected, but it felt amazing.

“Alexander, you alright now?” Gilbert asked when he walked into the common of their apartment.

The minute Alexander turned around to face Gil, he ran his fingertips along his slightly chapped lips, still in awe of what happened. “I think so.”

What Alexander meant was that he was over the moon.

The helpless man could hardly wait for that phone call Eliza had promised.


	13. Chapter 13

“Where were you?”

The minute Eliza stepped into the Walker household, she was met by a worried-looking older sister. Eliza left earlier in what seemed to be a panic and it’d worried the family. The girls and their families—which consisted of only John—had been at their father’s house all day, preparing dinner and spending time with each other.

Eliza, however, disappeared for a few hours and everyone was worried about her.

Setting her things aside while holding a book and folder to her chest, Eliza spared a smile for her sister before walking right past her. “I had to talk to someone,” Eliza informed Angelica, “then I had to figure a few things out.”

“What do you mean?” Angelica questioned further as she followed behind, continuing to whip the mashed potatoes in the large, silver bowl she was holding. “You never just disappear like that. Did you go talk to Tench or… Oh God, Eliza. You didn’t visit Alexander, did you?”

Sitting the folder and book on the island counter, Eliza turned to her sister and cocked a brow in confusion. “Why would it matter if I visited Alexander? I enjoy his company and I thought you didn’t mind him.”

Before Angelica could reply, their father walked into the room and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed his middle daughter standing there, leaning against the island in the kitchen.

“Where in the hell were you?”

Eliza felt subtly guilty for just taking off unannounced, but she was a grown woman. She didn’t think it was necessary.

“I had to talk to a friend about a book I just finished.” Eliza patted the chunky biography of the man she talked to only hours before.

“Emergency book club meeting?” Peggy giggled, emerging from her father’s office. Behind her, John Bark followed. When the youngest’s eyes fell on the book Eliza’s hand sat on top of, she gasped. “You _finally_ finished?”

“You’re acting like I didn’t have work and other important things to prioritize before this, Pegs.” Eliza shot a stern look at her sister before migrating to the kitchen countertops. Picking up a knife, she began to cut up a lemon she assumed was for the salmon that Angelica said she was going to make earlier.

“Well, now that you’re done… can I read it?”

Only a minute later, Peggy stood by Eliza’s side with the book hugged to her chest.

Not giving her sister a second glance, Eliza shook her head. “No can do. It’s Alexander’s. I’m not the one to give you permission.”

“Can I call Alexander on your phone and ask if I can read it?” Peggy continued, causing annoyance to make its way into Eliza.

“Peggy, no. I’m sorry, but there’s really personal information in there. He gave it to me because he trusts me,” Eliza practically lectured. Sometimes her sister could be so immature and she was only two years her junior.

“In a biography?”

“Leave it alone and put it back down, Margarita,” Philip finally intervened, causing a sigh of relief to emit from Eliza.

It wasn’t fun being tense with her sisters, but it happened.

“ _Dad_. You know I don’t like that name,” the woman spoke up before stomping her way into the living room.

“She acts like such a teenager sometimes,” Angelica stated the obvious, standing next to Eliza. They were the only two in the kitchen since their father had followed their pouty little sister.

“I know. It’s because she was a spoiled child.” Rolling her eyes, Eliza sat the lemon slices aside and turned to Ange. “What’s up?”

“What’s with that book anyway? You act like it’s the guy’s diary.” Angelica gave her sister a look before opening the oven and setting the bowl inside.

Eliza wouldn’t say, but the biography was practically Alexander’s diary.

“He wrote annotations, a lot of them are personal.”

Angelica let out a groan. She abhorred how secretive Eliza’d been since she met Alexander. Everything was vague and Eliza wouldn’t dare spare the details. It concerned Angelica, frankly.

“Did you cheat on Tench?”

“Oh my God!” Eliza suddenly yelled in pain. Glancing down at her finger, she realized that she’d cut it. Nothing that running water wouldn’t fix, but it didn’t feel pleasant whatsoever. The lemon only accentuated the sting.

“Damnit,” Angelica spoke under her breath, tugging her sister to the sink. After sticking Eliza’s injured hand under the faucet, the woman leaned against the counter, waiting for an answer.

“I did not cheat on Tench, Angelica. Why would you think so lowly of me?” Eliza inquired, obviously hurt by her sister’s wild accusation. Angelica pulled the question out of thin air but it was apparent that it was on her mind for a while.

The tone Eliza spoke in made it obvious that she was hurt, causing Angelica to feel rather rude. Never had Angelica tried to accuse her, but the more Eliza and Alexander sneaked around, the more Angelica assumed it was an affair.

“You seem so secretive with Alexander… and you’re so comfortable with him, Eliza. You looked more comfortable with him than you have with Tench in years.”

“I have a vibe with Alexander, Angie. That’s all. We understand each other really well. It’s been that way since we’ve met.” It was still hard for Eliza to come to terms that she knew him longer than she realized. She’d been married to him lifetimes before.

“You shouldn’t vibe that way with someone when you were still in a—”

“Think about it this way, _Angelica_ ,” Eliza asserted with an edge in her voice. “The relationship I was in was becoming abusive. I found a man who’s sweet and would give me the world. I found a genuine man that—”

“How would you know if he was genuine?!” Angelica finally yelled, her eyes boring into Eliza’s. “You met him two and a half weeks ago!”

“It doesn’t take that long to get to know someone and I happen to trust him. He’s gained my trust.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Angelica pathetically laughed. “Anyone could gain your trust. You’re so easily manipulated, naïve. You’re so naïve!”

“I’m so sorry that I like to find the good in people!” Eliza screamed, her eyes widening at the sound of her voice. The last time she was that angry, it was when she was twelve and the fact that she was an adopted child hit her. For weeks, Eliza was pissed off at her birth mother and yelled at anyone who tried to console her. She felt bad for yelling then.

Eliza didn’t feel any sense of remorse this time around.

“If wanting to find the good in a person is so wrong, then—”

“I just—” Angelica held her hands up in defeat. “I want to protect you, but if you want to get hurt, be my guest. You need to build walls sometimes, Eliza. Not everyone is good.”

Letting her hands fall to her sides, Angelica shook her head and exited the kitchen, leaving Eliza by herself.

Not having Angelica on her side hurt. A sister’s approval was vital for some families, and Angelica wasn’t providing it. If she really got to know Alexander, Eliza was sure they’d be great friends and if what he said was true, they were great friends at one point.

Eliza didn’t realize she was crying until a teardrop fell, landing on the cuff of her shirt that she was unintentionally staring at. She went to wipe the other tears out of her eyes, but the phone in her back pocket began to vibrate.

Unsure of who it was, Eliza fetched the phone. People usually texted her unless it was Tench calling her to “do him a solid”.

That wasn’t who it was.

Alexander was calling.

“Hey,” she sighed into the phone. “What’s up?”

“You never called to tell me that you got home. I was worried you got hurt.”

Eliza knew Angelica would love him. Tench never did that. He never checked to see if she was okay, he never thought about anything unless it benefited him in one way or another. Alexander was considerate, on the other hand. It was refreshing to know someone cared.

“I’m sorry, I got distracted. I headed to the shop to sort things out for the trip. As soon as you told me that we were leaving on Wednesday, I just sort of forgot. I got too lost in setting everything up for my father… or someone who will step in for me.” Turning the water off, Eliza crossed her arm over her chest and leaned against the counter. “So, I think it’s a go.”

Very faintly, Eliza could hear Alexander excitedly whisper, “Yes!”

She couldn’t help but giggle. “God, you’re so cute.”

“I’m glad you think that, Betsey. By the way, why is your store closed on Saturday and not Sunday?”

 _Good question_ , Eliza thought.

“We have family day on Saturdays. Basically, the girls and I spend all day at my father’s. When we get serious, I’ll bring you over sometime.”

“Speaking of dates,” Alexander coughed into the phone, “I was wondering if you wanted to go to a club in celebration of our road trip. I’m not the richest guy, so—”

“ _Hey_ , we had a deal. I’m paying,” Eliza stated with determination. She didn’t want to make him pay for everything.

“Fine, fine. Are you going to take us to another hole in the wall? Does my company need to endorse a local whiskey company this time?”

As Alexander talked, Eliza’s eyes fell on her father. He was peering into the kitchen, curiosity written on his face. So, she waved him over.

“Yes, small bars are really fun and I know of one that isn’t too smoky. We can dance, drink, that kind of thing.” Eliza wrapped an arm around her father once he stood by her side. “And you know that Mamá loves you for buying, what, literally the whole stock of coffee she had for sale?”

“Yeah! George was happy to buy it,” Alexander mused. “Just text me the details. I’ll pick you up and you’ll need to be packed just so you know. We’ll stay in a hotel.”

“That sounds perfect.” Everything sounded perfect. “I’ll see you later, okay? Have a good night and text me if you need anything, even if you just want to talk.”

“I will. I love you, Eliza. Goodbye.”

Alexander hung up.

“You seem to be in a better mood,” Philip noted as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Talking to Alexander always made Eliza happy. “Daddy… I have a question.”

Philip looked down at his daughter and flashed her a smile. “Fire away.”

Eliza didn’t know quite know how to ask the question at mind without her sounding foolish. So, she decided to reword it. “When do you think is the right time to move on to loving another person?”

“Love is a funny thing, Betsey,” Philip admitted, gently squeezing his daughter into his side. “It demands to be felt. You can try to conceal it, but actions will always speak louder than words. Love is quick, frightening, uncomfortable. Moving on simply depends on when your heart is ready to love someone again.” He paused for a brief moment before glancing down at her. “Why? Did you find someone?”

“I’m pretty damn sure that I found someone I like. I’m not going to say that I love him, but we connect in this way I’ve never connected with anyone before and he makes me happy, Daddy. He makes me smile and Tench did, but not in the way Alexander does.” A grin defaulted onto Eliza’s face. Just admitting her admiration for Alexander caused her heart to burst. “We know each other so well beyond words and it’s an amazing connection, a unique one.”

A smile spread across Philip’s face. All he ever wanted for his children was for them to be happy and Eliza was on cloud nine. “I can’t wait to meet him, Eliza.”

She knew they’d like each other.

“Are those lemons ready?” Peggy questioned as she made her way into the kitchen. “John is wanting to grill the salmon and I need to get them prepped.

“I think so, just ignore the blood,” Eliza spoke up, pulling away from her father so she could help her younger sister.

It took about another twenty minutes to get dinner ready. In that time, Eliza set the table and placed the folder under her chair so she could present it to her father during dinner. Those sorts of things were discussed while dining, after all.

She was the first one that sat at the table. Everything was in its place, and she wasn’t really in charge of the food, but after a couple of minutes, everyone had joined her.

“I think Daddy should lead the prayer,” Angelica muttered into her wine glass as she took a sip. “There are some people at this table that really need to be prayed for.”

“Wrath’s a deadly sin, Angelica,” Eliza mumbled under her breath.

“And so is lust.”

“ _Bless us oh Lord_ ,” Peggy interrupted, a look of distress on her face. Inner turmoil was something she wanted to avoid at all costs and she knew both sisters were too religious to interrupt prayer.

So, they joined her.

Once Peggy was finished with the simple nursery-rhyme prayer, Philip took it upon himself to branch out. “Lord, I would like to thank you for looking after my girls and guiding them down the right path. Please especially watch over Eliza as she ventures into a new love and watch over the man as well. All I want is for my girls to be happy. I trust you with that. Amen.”

Everyone repeated Philip, all except Angelica. She just couldn’t get on board with Eliza finding someone new and she wasn’t going to bless any possible union between Alexander and Eliza.

The first few minutes of dinner were quiet. Everyone was content with their food and no one felt the need to speak. However, the silence grew boring after a few minutes and Peggy wasn’t having it.

“So, you like him, Liza?”

Eliza thought _that_ conversation was over, but it clearly wasn’t.

“Yeah. He’s really sweet,” Eliza answered honestly, taking a bite of her food. “I kissed him today.”

Peggy gasped, a playful grin faltering onto her face. “Does he make you happy?”

“Very.” Maybe it wasn’t the best moment to announce her trip, but Eliza’s eyes fell to her father. He looked very pleased. “Daddy, I was wondering if you could do something for me.”

Philip looked surprised. After taking a swig of his Chardonnay, he sat the crystal glass back on the table and leaned back in his chair. “And what is that?”

Out of the corner of Eliza’s eye, she could see Angelica sitting there with her lips pursed and brows furrowed. She was pissed, but Eliza dismissed it. She focused back on her father before asking, “Can you step in for me at Walker’s for a week starting Wednesday?”

Angelica scoffed.

“Why, are you going to finally move your things out of your old apartment?” He inquired, not really knowing what else it could’ve been.

“No,” Eliza shook her head, somewhat afraid of Angelica’s reaction to what she was going to say. “I’m going on a road trip with someone.”

“I swear to God, Eliza. If it’s with Alexander—”

“It is with Alexander and I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.” Eliza sat her fork down, her appetite decreasing as she grew angrier.

“You barely know the guy and you’re willing to let him take you to God knows where?” Angelica shook her head in disappointment. “He’s going to hurt you, Eliza.”

“No he’s not. You don’t know him.” The middle sister bitterly chuckled. “You probably won’t give him the time either. You should trust me.”

“I trusted you about Tench and he was abusive! What if Alexander cheats on you? What if he’s not—” Angelica was cut off when Eliza let out a cry. “Elizabeth, you better not be trying to guilt trip me!”

Eliza didn’t know why she’d suddenly burst into tears. It was very possible that it was because she was pissed, but a sense of hurt flooded her senses.

Instead of trying to talk, Eliza stood up and left the table. Cooling off was probably the smartest idea. After grabbing the folder from under her chair, she walked out of the house.

Closing the door behind her, Eliza took a seat on the front stoop of the porch. Sometimes just sitting outside and taking a breath helped.

Not too long after Eliza took a seat on the front porch, she was joined by her father. He wrapped his lanky arm around her in a comforting fashion, squeezing her to his side. “Tell me about this boy that your sister hates.”

Sniffing, Eliza wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced down at her father. He was peering down at her, a genial look crossing his face. Eliza thanked God every day for having such an amazing father.

“In all fairness, she hadn’t taken the time to get to know him. She’s seen him a few, maybe two times and she’s talked to him, what, once? I don’t even know if she’s ever talked to him and it hurts for her to just dismiss him.” Eliza shook her head. She had the right to be angry, Eliza believed. Making hypotheticals of things that probably wouldn’t happen was only making things worse.

“She thinks she’s protecting you.” Obviously, Angelica wanted the best for her sister but she was taking the wrong steps and Philip recognized that. “Anyway, about the boy.”

“I think I have a picture of him,” Eliza muttered under her breath, pulling out her phone so she could scroll through her pictures. “He’s really sweet, everyone thinks he’s an odd bird, though. I did at first, kind of. When he first met me, he kissed my hand.” She chuckled at the fond memory as if it was years ago.

“Was he the man you danced with all night at George’s birthday?” Philip asked in realization. “I still want to see him, I didn’t get a good look.”

“Yeah, that’s him. Angelica thinks I cheated and I guess I can see why, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that. You know me.” Finally finding a picture, she held it up to her father.

In the picture, Alexander was sitting at a wooden table in the dimly lit coffee shop they visited a week and a half before. A white coffee mug was held to his lips and his eyes were on the woman behind the camera. The most striking feature of his face was his eyes, at least to Eliza. They glimmered with reverie. The look in his eyes was oh-so-familiar to her, and she was thinking that it was because of the truth.

The words on each page of the biography were beginning to seep into Eliza’s thoughts; they were internalizing and things were beginning to piece themselves together. Still, however, she couldn’t exactly comprehend it all.

“He looks nice.”

“Very nice to me, at least.” She let out a chuckle as she leaned against her father. “He says he’s a jerk to other people, though. I haven’t seen him that way yet and if I date him, I’m sure I will.”

“So you really want to date him? Even after _just_ ending it with your boyfriend of six years?” Philip rubbed her shoulder.

Eliza took a lot of time to think about Alex, about Tench, just about relationships in general. It did feel somewhat odd to jump so quickly from such a long relationship to another in only a few weeks, but she wanted to move on from the past. If she wasn’t in love with him anymore, why should she dwell on the relationship?

“I’m tired of wasting my time on him, Daddy. He’s not worth my time. I mean, I’m still considering reporting abuse. Alexander took a picture of the bruise and he’s willing to be a witness. I just don’t know if I should. It happened once and I’m out of his way.” Even though Tench hurt her, she still couldn’t help but see the good in him.

“You should report it before I get the time to visit him myself,” Philip threatened, causing Eliza’s eyes to widen in shock.

Eliza was surprised by his belligerence, but she knew he wanted the best for her.

“I’ll try, I need to look into it soon. I don’t know how much time I have to report it. I mean, it was a week and a half ago.” Eliza shook her head. “Plus I have the trip. God, I should’ve filed a complaint sooner.”

Philip smiled at his daughter, caressing her arm again in an attempt to help her calm down. To digress from the stressful situation, he asked, “Where is this road trip going to be?”

Even Eliza didn’t know exactly, but her beau mentioned something about Mount Vernon at one point and she didn’t want to tell her dad that Alexander referenced it as “The Truth: Part Two” because she didn’t think he would understand.

“We’re staying up north, that’s all I know. I’ll send pictures… if you’ll be my stand in.” Eliza flashed a hopeful smile at her dad, causing a deep chuckle to resonate from his chest.

“I think Angelica’s angry that you didn’t pick her to manage,” he admitted, “but I think she’ll be fine. Where can I get an apron?”

Eliza gasped, happiness surging through her. If she understood correctly, he was going to be a stand in.

Standing up, she moved in front of her father, grasping onto his hands. “Do you mean—”

“Do I get paid?” Philip stood up, a comical look on his features before pulling her in for a hug. “Don’t worry about that, I hope you have fun.”

As Eliza held onto her father, burying her face in his chest, a sense of overwhelment took over; she was absolutely exuberant.

Never had she thought that her father would agree to something so erratic and sudden, but he did and she was grateful for it.

“I know I will.”


	14. Chapter 14

All of the bags Alexander was taking sat by his bedroom door, completely packed and ready to load into his car. They’d been sitting there since Eliza said she was able to go on the trip.

Thankfully, Alexander’s terrible mood lifted and he’d been acting much happier. John, on the other hand, seemed deflated. It was obvious that he didn’t really approve of his relationship with Eliza, but Alexander wished John didn’t act out about it. Any time Alexander called Eliza to talk to her, John would go out of his way to scoff or roll his large, hazel eyes. Frankly, it was annoying and Alexander was growing irritated with the attitude.

The break would help, Alexander hoped. By the time he’d get back, Gilbert would be out, John would be in, and hopefully everything would be at peace.

It was a Tuesday evening and Alexander was getting ready for his first date with Eliza. Excitement coursed through his veins and he couldn’t wipe that stupid, lovelorn look off of his face since he woke up that morning. All he wanted to do was help Eliza remember and that was exactly what he was going to do.

“John, are my sleeves rolled up evenly?” Alexander glanced at the reflection of his friend sprawled out across the bed in his mirror. Although he didn’t know why, John liked to stay in Alexander’s room even though he had his own since he moved in.

The man gave his friend a quick glance, not really paying much mind to Alexander before looking back at his phone. “Yep.”

Alexander knew John didn’t approve, but it was becoming vexing by how negatory he thought of the two being together.

“Would you stop being a dick and actually check?” Alexander groaned, turning on the ball of his foot before practically marching his way to the edge of his bed.

Although John wanted to continue being a smartass, he decided to let Alexander off easy. He was his friend, after all. Maybe it was a _little_ rude.

Pulling each arm out to where they extended in front of Alexander’s body, John inspected each sleeve. They were perfectly even. “You’re good.”

“Do you like me?”

The sudden question nearly caused John to choke on his spit. With wide eyes, he looked up at Alexander, practically paralyzed.

“I’m curious. You’ll still be my best friend no matter what.”

John blinked a couple of times, trying to find the words to say. How did he tell Alexander that he’d been acting so negative towards his union with Eliza because he had a stupid, little crush?

Finally standing up, John looked into Alexander’s eyes and nodded with hesitance. “Yeah. I do.”

Alexander promptly placed both hands on John’s shoulders and began to rub them. He was a bit tense. “That’s okay, John.”

“Are you really going to date her, Alexander?” It was rare for John to show his weak side, but his voice cracked mid-sentence.

After pulling his friend into a tight embrace, Alexander buried his face into the man’s neck. “Yeah. I love her and I love you too, John… just not in that way.”

“I wish you did,” he whispered, pulling himself away from Alexander’s grip. “She… makes you happy?”

Watching John begin to break through was a relief.

“She’s my universe, my everything.” A smile flickered onto Alexander’s face. “I love her to death. She makes my heart soar.”

Each proclamation of love hit John like a truck, but Alexander was happy and that made him hurt a little less. “That’s good.”

A look of affliction was written all over John’s face, making Alexander feel slightly guilty, but all he could do was pull John into another warming hug.

“You’re my best friend and I don’t want you to ever forget that, okay?” Alexander placed a kiss on the side of John’s head before pulling away.

John, however, didn’t want to let go. So, he succumbed to grasping onto Alexander’s arm. “I love you, Alex.”

A smile flickered onto Alexander’s face. He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t love John back. He did, just not in that way. “I love you too.”

For a while, the room was silent. Alexander was taking the time to make sure everything was in his bag and John was standing there, admiring his friend for the last few minutes he’d be there. John was never good with coping, and with Alexander not being in the house, he was going to need someone or something to distract him. His instincts told him to beg Alexander to stay, but John knew that it would be better for Alexander to be happy.

“Need any help with your bags?” John questioned after thinking for a while. He might as well make himself useful.

Alexander turned to his friend, glad that the mood shifted. John had been so dismissive of Eliza and there was a sense of acceptance that John hadn’t given off until just then. It was refreshing.

Slinging a bag over his shoulder, Alexander flashed a smile at his friend. “It would mean a lot.”

John had a smile to spare.

Once pulling the bag into his grasp, he headed towards the door.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Eliza felt silly. It’d been a full twenty minutes of simply standing in front of the mirror, looking for any minor imperfections. She was constantly nitpicking, making her a perfectionist. It was a blessing and a curse.

When it came to baking, it aided her in making the best tasting pastries and desserts. When it came to her appearance, she never felt like she was beautiful enough.

Nothing about her looked bad The periwinkle, backless dress hugged her figure, and Peggy swore that she looked amazing, yet Eliza wondered if she did, or if it was too much. She was wearing a simple necklace—which was a family heirloom—and earrings to match. She even replaced her nose ring with a stud so she wouldn’t look too overdressed, yet she still felt like she was trying too hard.

Exiting the bathroom, Eliza stumbled into Peggy’s room and stared at the woman sitting at the edge of the bed. She was getting ready for her own date.

After making sure that the straps on the wedges were tight enough, Peggy stood up and glanced at Eliza. “You look beautiful, you know.”

Eliza glanced down at her outfit and decided heels were too much. She rarely wore them, and she thought that the occasion would call for a pair, but it looked to be as if she was overdoing it.

“I don’t know. I feel like—”

“You’re too modest for your own well-being,” Peggy groaned, heading towards her closet. “What do you want, the usual?”

Taking a seat in Peggy’s previous spot, Eliza bobbed her head. “Ballet flats, yep.”

While Eliza waited for her sister to return with a pair of shoes, she received a text from Alexander.

_Outside! Are your things ready? Don’t rush, I’ll come to the door like a proper date._

“Pegs, hurry! Alex is here!”

“Good God, let the fashion queen do her job!” Peggy called from the walk-in closet before emerging with a pair of golden slippers. “Don’t lose them on the trip. They’re my favorite.”

Just as Eliza went to reply, there was a rhythmic knock on the door. So, she grabbed the shoes from Peggy and slipped them onto her feet.

“Help me with my bags?” Eliza inquired. She scooped the bag she was going to keep in the front seat in her arms.

“Don’t have too much fun,” the younger sister lectured as she followed behind, lugging the bag with her sister’s clothes for the week. “As much as I can’t wait for a niece or nephew, I’m expecting one from Angelica, not you.”

“Peggy, we just got together—”

“Most newly-dates don’t take road trips together and strangers sleep with each other all of the time.” Peggy shrugged. “Oh, and make sure he wears a condom—”

“ _Margarita_.”

That shut Peggy up.

After primping her ebony bob slightly, Eliza tugged the door open and let her jaw hang at the sight.

Not only did Alexander look absolutely adorable, but he was also holding a giant bouquet of gardenias that were tied together with a bow that coincidentally matched her dress.

Alexander looked just as shocked, causing the surprised look on her face to turn into a look of admiration.

“You look so cute, Alex! Awe!”

The man was adorned in a cream button down and some tan slacks, tied together with black suspenders. A familiar looking newsboy cap rested on top of his head and a coat matching his pants temporarily embraced his torso.

Once the man’s eyes were back in their sockets, he cleared his throat.

“You look absolutely ravishing, my dear,” he admitted in complete sincerity. “My god, you’re my date…”

Eliza couldn’t help but blush. It was rare that she felt like the prettiest girl in the world, but when Alexander looked at her with those intelligent eyes, she couldn’t help but feel slightly proud of her appearance.

She’d never felt that way before.

“Yeah,” she muttered under her breath as he took her hand and kissed it like usual.

“Okay, Alexander. I’ve already given Eliza this lecture, but you were outside. Wear condoms. I don’t feel like having a niece or nephew from this one yet.” Peggy clapped a hand on Eliza’s back, causing the woman to startle slightly.

Alexander and Eliza exchanged amused glances. Thankfully, they were acquainted with each other enough to where it was somewhat comical.

“Don’t worry, I don’t fuck on the first date, no matter how tempting my date looks.” Alexander allowed his eyes to scan her body for a brief moment before they fell back on her chocolate velvet eyes.

To his surprise, she looked slightly aroused.

Sadly, Alexander stood by what he said. He did know Eliza very well, but she didn’t know him as much yet.

The three of them headed towards the car moments later and everything was loaded in the trunk for the time being.

Like a gentleman, Alexander opened the door for Eliza and she climbed in with his aid. The pampering was something Eliza loved and would absorb. Sure, Tench got her flowers but did he open the door, did he call her any cute pet names, did he offer her an arm while guiding her? No.

Eliza was positive she upgraded and she was glad of it.

Once in the car, Alexander shut the door behind Eliza and walked around, climbing in himself. The car purred once turning on the ignition and Alexander rolled both of their windows down, allowing Eliza to wave at her sister.

“Have fun!” Peggy yelled as the car began to roll forward. “Wear a condom, Alexander! I love you, Eliza!”

“I love you too!” Eliza giggled as Alexander finally took off down the road.

Alexander let out a quiet laugh as he propped his right arm on the center console. He took a second to glance at Eliza in the mirror before glancing back at the road. “She’s always been so… Peggy. I don’t even know what word I’d use to describe her.”

“There are too many words to describe her, you really can’t narrow the list down… I still can’t believe that she was the person to rid of the Tories and Native Americans when they went to raid the Schuyler mansion.”

Their family history, according to Alexander, was beyond amazing. She wanted to remember everything, she wanted to have the memories herself and not rely on Alexander for a good story. She could tell that there were memories recollecting, but they were too far gone for her to truly remember. It was a shame. Both Alexander and Eliza hoped that their road trip would summon her memories. If not, she’d have to rely on Alexander. There was no other option as far as she knew.

“I never saw that myself because I was off doing aide-de-camp shit, but when it finally came around, I was worried about you. I mean, you were pregnant with our son and I had no idea what I would’ve done if anyone hurt you.” Alexander took a right turn as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “I surely would’ve flown into a blind rage.”

The mention of Eliza being pregnant made her unconsciously place her hand on her belly. Faded stretch marks spread across her stomach and hips in any direction and she didn’t understand why until then. She had children at one point and scars stayed with each lifetime. That was why Alexander had those scars, especially the stark gunshot wound.

“I have stretch marks,” she mumbled all of a sudden, causing Alexander to quietly chuckle.

“You were pregnant nine times, my love.” Alexander took another turn on the road and stopped while approaching a red light. Since they weren’t going anywhere, he turned to her and grasped her hand. “You were such a good mother.”

“When we get really serious, are we gonna have eight living kids again? That number seems really hectic.” Instinctively entwining their fingers, she looked up at Alexander with humor in her eyes. “I still can’t believe I named my dogs after the first two of our children.”

It _was_ pretty funny.

With the light turning green, Alexander subtly pressed on the gas and continued their trip. “It’s not them. I don’t think I’ve known a human that’s reincarnated to an animal. I mean, I’m sure it happens. I’ve just never known anyone that’s happened to.”

“I wonder where they are now, or if I’ll get pregnant with any of them. I mean, my mother never got pregnant with me, yet I ended up with some of my family. I wonder where the Schuyler brothers are, and where my other sisters ended up.” So many questions bounced through Eliza’s head and they were beyond Alexander as well. It would’ve been nice to know where everyone they loved was. Sadly, there was no sure way to know.

“I can always tell by their eyes. When I look into their eyes, there’s something that clicks with my brain, I guess?” Since they arrived at the small bar, Alexander began the tedious process of parallel parking. “I’ve never found any of the children. I can’t wait until I do, though.”

Once parked, Alexander turned off the ignition and turned to Eliza. “This is your favorite place to go?”

“I’ve been here before. It was nice, sweet people, the service was pretty good. It’s really small, intimate, and not too loud, so we can talk easily.” After smiling at Alexander, Eliza buckled out. Hopefully, the night would be enjoyable and she’d be even closer to Alexander.

Alexander was hasty to unbuckle, close the door on his side, and open Eliza’s. Sticking to being a gentleman was a plan Alexander had. All throughout his lifetimes, he was always kind and warm towards the ladies he’d encountered and he didn’t want to act any other way. They were beautiful, smart, and held all of the power in the world. Women deserved the recognition and he was going to make sure Eliza got it at the least.

“Thank you, sir,” Eliza giggled while Alexander helped her stand, closing the door behind her. Although he was going to pull his hand away, Eliza decided to grasp onto it, enjoying the warmth it gave her.

Alexander glanced back at her, a twinkle of excitement in his eyes. Pulling her a little closer, the two walked into the bar together.

The bar was small, like Eliza said, and had a moderate amount of people standing around. There were about ten on the dance floor, five strewn across the bar, and another few sitting at tables more near the corner of the tavern. It was a nice, little, tidy place to have a drink and Alexander was surprised that neither Gilbert or John spotted the place before.

Both Alexander and Eliza hopped up on a barstool at the same time, each chuckling when their knees knocked.

“I’m sorry,” they apologized in unison, causing more fits of laughter to erupt from them, all until the bartender headed in their direction.

The couple were able to compose themselves once the man walked up towards them.

From the moment he approached the two, it seemed as if his eyes fell to the slight cleavage that was peeping from the top of Eliza’s shirt. Almost instantly, Alexander held a hand over Eliza’s chest, causing the bartender to look at him.

“Have some respect for women.”

Eliza was left clueless. Her eyes were traveling around the room when he finally reached them, so when she focused back on Alex and the bartender, she rose a brow. “What happened?”

When she noticed that Alexander’s hand was hovering about an inch away from her chest, she figured it out. The abrasive side of Alexander was beginning to shine through, but it was all in the name of protecting her.

As much as Alexander wanted to help, Eliza didn’t want it. So, instead of pushing his hand away, she grasped onto it and laced their fingers together. Eliza was sure Alexander wanted to leave, but she wasn’t going to let that man ruin their night, so she turned to the man and smiled. He looked alarmed.

“I’m so sorry about that, ma’am and sir,” the bartender turned to Alexander, sticky sweet sincerity oozing from his words. “Sometimes my head isn’t in the right place and I needed someone to remind me to get my head out of the gutter.” The jolly, bearded Irishman explained. Alexander still had his suspicions, but he knew Eliza was stubborn and there was no way they were leaving.

“Just know that my eyes are up here and try not to do that again,” Eliza spoke for herself with a pretty little smile on her face. “Now, can I have a piña colada?”

Alexander ordered his drink right after and once the bartender parted, he looked at Eliza with admiration in his eyes. “I’m glad that you can stand up for yourself. You’re such a strong woman.”

Although Eliza already knew that, she knew that Alexander remembered her to be a subordinate lady from the eighteenth century. People changed a little bit at the least with every lifetime, she imagined and she became a strong woman with a voice of her own. Not that she wasn’t already, she just didn’t have the platforms that supported what she wanted to say.

With a smile spread across her face, she mumbled an, “I know.”

On the other hand, it was amazing to see the love of his lives spread her wings and fly. From the beginning, she was strong. She did so much and got little to no recognition for it. Eliza Hamilton was the reason Alexander’s legacy continued, was the reason why the Washington monument stood erect in DC. Almost no one realized that. Eliza Hamilton was a founding mother, along with several other women who did good for their country. Sadly, they merely shadowed the men and it was a disappointment to Alexander that that was the case.

So, in order to show his appreciation for the lovely woman sitting in front of him, he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and mumbled, “Best of wives and best of women.”

Eliza’s eyes fell on him, a blush making its way to her cheeks as he showed his admiration. Looking away for a split second, her eyes landed on a man behind Alexander. He looked to be drunk, but the smirk on his face deterred her. She looked away immediately after.

 _Don’t accept drinks from strangers_ , she reminded herself.

She doubted he would buy anything for her, though.

“Is there something wrong?” Alexander inquired as soon as he sat back up. There was a look of discomfort in her eyes.

Looking back at Alexander, she shook her head. “No, I’m okay.”

Alexander knew she was lying, but he said nothing. If she needed anything, she would let him know and he knew that.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Alexander breathily chuckled, squeezing her hand. “What are you most looking forward to on our trek?”

Eliza cocked a brow. “You haven’t told me much about it other than the fact that we’ll be making our way to Mount Vernon at one point.”

Although Alexander held up a finger and went to inform her that he sent her an itinerary of everything they were doing, he realized that his computer battery died just as he went to send it to her via email. Slowly, he put his hand down and glanced at her. “I meant to send you a plan, but I forgot to.”

“Your drinks,” the bartender interrupted, causing Alexander and Eliza to glance in his direction. “Do you want to keep an open tab?”

“Yes, that would be nice.” Eliza mustered up a smile for the man and handed over her debit card once fishing it out of her bag.

“Will do, just give me a minute.” He walked off with the card in hand.

“Raise a glass, a toast to our road trip and new beginnings.” Alexander held his mug of beer in the air, awaiting for Eliza’s glass to tap with his.

“To our road trip and new beginnings,” she laughed, clinking her glass to his before taking a drink. It was nice, refreshing, and fruity, so she let out a hum in delight.

“So it tastes good?” Alexander asked, setting his beer aside. He would’ve gotten something more potent, but he didn’t want too much alcohol running in his system. He had to transport precious cargo to their hotel. “Mind me tasting?”

Holding the glass out, she nodded. “It’s _amazing_.”

Surely enough, it was. Alexander took a sip and nodded before handing it back. “Tastes real.”

Eliza nodded in agreement. “So, what is this itinerary that you speak of?”

Alexander went to reach for his phone but frowned when he couldn’t find it. Realizing he left it in the car, he stood from his seat and placed his hands on his hips. “I need to get my phone so I can give it to you precisely.”

The man left Eliza after pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“How long have the two of you been together?”

Leaning against the bar, Eliza glanced up at the bartender. He was holding her debit card out, so she pulled it from his grasp and turned to reach her purse. Once sliding the card in its desired slot, she turned back to face him and smiled a little.

“This is actually our first date, but we’ve been friends for around two weeks now.” Eliza casually took a drink to quench her thirst.

“He looks like he really likes you,” he mumbled before realizing he hadn’t introduced himself. “I’m Isaac, by the way.”

She smiled at the man after a bit. “Eliza.”

“Alexander, her date,” Alexander suddenly spoke, drawing Eliza’s attention.

The sudden turn of her head surprisingly caused her to go a bit lightheaded, but she blinked a few times to regain her composure.

Sliding into his chair, Alexander took a hold of Eliza’s hand again and smiled at her before taking a swig of his beer. “So, about the itinerary.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Isaac muttered before slipping away.

Looking from the man back to Eliza, Alex smiled, then frowned when he noticed an inquisitive look on her face. “W-what?”

“Our plan for the week, Liza.” Alexander gulped, not sure what the sudden confusion was about, but he was getting an odd feeling about it. “Are… you okay?”

Eliza began to blink rapidly, attempting to clear her double vision. A sense of vertigo hit her as she sat there, her grasp tightening on his hand. Her clouded thoughts weren’t helping either. “I, uh..I think?” she slurred, her eyes beginning to flutter shut.

“Oh my god,” Alexander whispered under his breath, realizing just what happened. He felt absolutely foolish for leaving her side, but he was glad he got back as soon as he did. Otherwise, he didn’t know if she’d still be there.

“Is something wrong?” Isaac asked, approaching the two.

Alexander pulled the delirious Eliza into his arms as she gently swayed, glancing at the bartender. “Someone drugged her,” he seethed, looking back at Eliza. Her eyes were open, but she looked incredibly out of it.

The most terrifying part of it all was that she shut down right in front of his eyes.

“Who in the fuck slipped something in her drink?!” Alexander yelled loud enough to grab the attention of everyone in the room. The music that filled the silence suddenly cut off, but the slam of the front door drew everyone’s attention towards it. Alex swore he could see dreads, making his mind immediately go to Tench.

Thankfully, one of the men ran out, muttering something along the lines of, “I’m gonna find that motherfucker.”

“Alennndderr, ‘m fine,” Eliza slurred, attempting to place her hand on his shoulder. She missed him by a longshot, causing Alexander to let out a shaky breath.

“Want me to call the ambulance?” A woman questioned, walking up to the two of them. When Alexander’s eyes fell on the small Filipino, he smiled slightly. Kitty Livingston, but she was unaware of it.

“Please. I need to stay with her and make sure she’s okay. Oh, and I need to call her father—”

“No,” Eliza grumbled, her grasp on him loosening. “I… I—”

A sense of nausea overwhelmed her, rendering her silent until she threw up all over Alexander’s outfit.

Alexander was too worried to care about the mess on his body. All he knew was that he needed to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.

Slowly, Alexander sunk to the ground, pulling Eliza down with him. Since his lap was covered in the contents of Eliza’s stomach, he grabbed his coat and placed it in his lap before laying her on her side. If she was flat on her back and threw up again, it wouldn’t have been good for her.

“Eliza, my love, I need to call your dad. I know you may not want it,” he sympathized, running a hand up and down her back, “but he needs to know.”

So, he did exactly as he said. Eliza gave him her number a day before, just in case there was an emergency.

After a few rings, Philip answered. “Hello?”

“Hello, sir! I’m Alexander Madea and I’m the man that’s taking your daughter on a road trip. We were on a date at a small bar tonight and I left only for a moment and someone drugged her. Someone else is calling 911 and they’re on their way?”

Alexander glanced at Kitty and she nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, they’re on their way. I wanted you to know. I’m with her right now.”

“Oh my God,” Philip whispered. “Do you know who?!”

“A man left as soon as she started acting strangely. Another person ran after him.” As Alexander gazed down at Eliza, he realized that she was sweating profusely. He was thinking that she was going to need something to drink, but he was unsure if she was unable to keep it down.

All Alexander could do was blame himself. If he hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have been on the ground, practically knocked out. They would be talking about their plans that were now canceled, as far as he was concerned.

“Which hospital will she be at? I need to see her,” Philip Walker spoke urgently, his words laced with complete fear.

“We’re closest to New York Presbyterian, so I would imagine that we’d be there—”

“Alex.”

His eyes fell on his Eliza, a frown engraved on his face. “Yes, dear?”

She glanced at him in confusion before another wave of nausea hit, causing her to throw up again.

“I couldn’t find him, sir,” the kind man that returned from chasing down the alleged criminal wheezed. “I think he drove away, but I ran up and down the block to make sure.”

“Thank you,” Alex muttered nervously before realizing that he was still on the phone.

“Mr. Walker, my hatred for Tench might be talking, but the man who left as soon as Eliza began to act up had dreadlocks.” It was possible that the assumption that it was Tench was most likely irrational, but Alexander felt certain of it. Maybe that was why Eliza looked uncomfortable only minutes before.

“Oh my God,” Philip muttered angrily. “I will be at the hospital soon. If there’s any change of where she’s going, let me know. Can she talk?”

Alexander didn’t know. She was entirely out of it. “Liza?”

She didn’t respond, but she was still breathing.

“She’s too far gone—”

The sound of sirens distracted Alexander, causing a long sigh of relief to emit from him.

“I’ll see you two soon. Thank you so much for taking care of her.”

“Of course, I wanted to let you know, sir. We’ll see you soon. Goodbye.”

Once Philip muttered his goodbyes as well, Alexander hung up and looked at Eliza. “Don’t worry, we’ll find the sonovabitch who hurt you.”

A small noise resonated from her, yet her eyes remained shut.

Before Alexander could talk to her anymore, two paramedics burst their way into the tavern and placed Eliza on a stretcher in the blink of an eye.

The rest of what happened before Eliza was placed in the back of the ambulance seemed to happen in a flash. They asked Alexander what took place and Alexander told them everything that happened. From the weird acting bartender to the dreadlocked stranger, he laid out the scene and told the medic her side effects.

Thankfully, Alexander was able to climb in the back with her. The car was going to have to stay because he was not about to leave her side. She was there for him no matter what when they were married. It was his turn to do the same.

Things began to finally slow down as soon as Alexander took as sat in the ambulance by Eliza’s side. She was knocked out and the paramedic next to her head had her on oxygen because the effects of the drug that they thought she was on included shortness of breath or losing the ability to breath completely.

“I don’t know why any sick fucker would do this to a woman,” Alexander growled under his breath, taking a hold of her limp hand. “We were supposed to go on a road trip.”

“People can be bad,” the paramedic sighed. “At least you came back before the rapist could take her.”

“Yeah, at least.”

Alexander should’ve never left her side in the first place.


	15. Chapter 15

It was early in the morning when Eliza first woke up Her head ached due to the fluorescent lights illuminating the room, yet she didn’t want to ask someone to turn them off. She was still sleepy, despite being knocked out for who knew how long. Even with the copious amount of exhaustion, she let her eyes flutter open, only for them to squint because of the blinding light shining directly in her eyes.

The first person Eliza saw was her father, standing at her feet. A worried expression graced his features and he reached out for her.

She reached out as well to grab his hand and smiled lazily, head rolling back as she let out a quiet breath. Everything felt like a dream, exaggerated and slow.

Very quietly, she heard a voice call her name, saying, “Eliza, you’re awake!” It was muffled, but she could distinguish the words.

“Mhmmmm,” she hummed in response before slurring, “Can someone turn the lights off?”

Someone understood her because the lights flickered off soon after, causing the smile on her face to grow slightly. Rolling on her side, Eliza’s eyes squinted open to find Alexander. He looked both relieved and worried from what she could tell before she shut her eyes again, slipping back into a slumber.

The second time Eliza woke up that day, her brain was much less clouded. Her eyes fluttered open to the sunlight lit room filled with worried family members. At her side was Alexander, his hand tied up with hers.

“Eliza?”

It took her a minute to distinguish the voice, but when she realized who it was, she turned we head to the side and smiled when she looked directly at Alexander.

The man’s hand reached up, gently stroking her tender cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Grasping onto his wrist, she drew his attention. So, as soon as he looked her in the eye, she smiled. “Hey.”

A grin slipped onto Alexander’s face, his eyes lighting up the moment she spoke. Although Eliza didn’t know how long she was asleep, it was evident to her that she’d been out for several hours.  

“You were out for a while,” Alexander chuckled, his grasp on her hand tightening. He leaned in, pressing a kiss on her forehead before leaning back. “I wasn’t too worried, but you never know with something as potent as ketamine.”

“Ketamine?” Blinking a few times, she went to sit up but Alexander kept her from doing so. “Who drugged me?”

Suddenly, her father stepped up from behind Alexander, placing a hand on her beau’s shoulder. “We don’t know who exactly, but we think it’s Tench. We—”

“I didn’t see him there, why would he have drugged me?” Again, she attempted to sit up and this time, Alexander let her.

“I saw someone with dreadlocks walk out the minute you began exhibiting symptoms of being drugged. That might just be my irrational thoughts because I know he’s not the only one who has dreadlocks, but you know me.” Alexander shrugged, a worried expression still on his face. “No matter who it was, we’ll find him. I’m contacting the manager later today and—”

“What about the trip?” Eliza’s brows were furrowed, lips pursed. The incident might’ve put a bump in the road, but Eliza didn’t want their little road trip to be dismissed after a slight inconvenience. She felt fine.

Alexander looked up, exchanging glances with her father before gazing at her again. “Your father and I have decided that it would be best if you stayed home. I can stay with you if you want, but we need to look into this, Eliza. We can’t run away from the—”

“Alexander,” Eliza cut him off yet again, “the past two weeks of my life have been stressful enough. I need a break. Please, let’s go on this road trip.”

A tender grasp on Alexander’s arm threatened him to cave in. Eliza made a rather compelling point. In the past two weeks, she met Alexander, had a falling out with her abusive ex, worked, read a giant ass book about Alexander, decided to date him, and got drugged at a bar she enjoyed while on a date. Taking a break from it all before diving into legal action might’ve been a good idea, but before Alexander could give in, Angelica cleared her throat.

Perched on a couch in the corner of the room, Angelica stood and strutted her way towards the hospital bed. “Eliza, you are going to go home with Daddy as soon as the discharge papers are signed and you are going to stay home. This was never a good idea in the first place and you need to heal!”

Anger began to resonate within Eliza as she glared at her older sister. “You’re not Mom and I’m going to go with the person I like—”

“He doesn’t want you to go either, Eliza!” Angelica snapped, causing almost everyone—except Alexander—to startle.

“Why do you not want me to go?!” Eliza practically yelled back, catching Alexander by surprise.

If Alexander was completely honest, he’d never really heard Eliza yell.

“Alexander, a word in the hallway,” Angelica seethed, marching towards the door.

Standing up hesitantly, he looked back down at Eliza and smiled at her with a genuine look on his face. “I’ll be right back, my love. You should be getting your discharge papers soon.”

Turning away from Eliza after a few words, he meandered his way into the hallway, the door slamming behind Angelica once she was out of the room as well.

“What in the hell are you doing, Alexander?”

Blinking a couple of times, Alexander cocked his head to the side. Clearly confused, he asked, “ _What am I doing?_ We’ve never really talked—”

“Why did you have to find her?”

_Oh._

After all of this time, Alexander was never really alone.

Did he confide in her, list his grievances and beg for forgiveness? Did he explain his plan? What did he do?

“When did you figure out that it was me?” Crossing his arms over his chest, Alexander leaned against the door.

Angelica looked almost defenseless at the question but furrowed her brows in thought as well. Then, she produced an answer. “When I knew it was _you_ , it was the day you came to drop off her things. I didn’t know you remembered everything until later.  When you came in to visit Eliza that one day, I saw that you were marking up your biography. That was when I realized you knew.”

Alexander was surprised, to say the least. She remained quiet for that long? It was shocking. Angelica usually confronted a person almost immediately.

“Why did you not say anything earlier?” He rasped, raking his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “You always ask the minute there’s something in question.”

Honestly, Angelica didn’t know why she didn’t talk to him sooner. He was right, she usually jumped on the opportunity to figure things out. For once, she didn’t.

“I don’t know.”

Nodding, Alexander stroked the scruff on his chin before asking, “Why are you so hostile?”

Angelica didn’t realize that with time, the man would turn into a simpleton. “Why do you think?”

Quickly making the connection, Alexander’s chest puffed slightly in defense. “You would really think that I would hurt Eliza like that again? _Really_? I didn’t realize you thought so lowly of me!”

“You cheated on her, Alexander! I want to protect her! I know you and I know you can’t avoid temptation. You nearly gave in to her requests just a minute ago!” She crossed her arms over her chest, matching Alexander’s stance. Angelica shifted her weight to her right side. “You hurt her. I want to protect her from the past. I don’t want her with you.”

“Eliza’s waking up, Angelica. I can’t leave her in the state she’s in. She wants to remember and I’m going to help her remember if it’s the last thing I do. And if we end up together again, I want you to know that I would _never_ cheat on her like I did lifetimes ago. I love her too much to be tempted by anyone other than her. I’ve spent my lifetimes planning, looking, trying to desperately find her and have her again. This is the first time in awhile that we have been close enough in age for it to not be inappropriate.” Alexander wasn’t going to give up just because Angelica wanted him to. Eliza was his everything and he just couldn’t lose her again. “You don’t have to support us, but know that I’m never giving her up again.”

Although she shouldn’t have been, Angelica was surprised by his fervorous rant of how he wasn’t going to let her slip away again. After watching him cheat on her that one time, she truly doubted his love for Eliza. Clearly, he did love her and who was she to step in the middle of it?

“I’m not happy about this,” Angelica finally sighed in defeat as she looked up at Alexander, a fire in her eyes. “If you cheat on her again, I’ll castrate you myself, you hear me?”

Alexander shrugged as if it was nothing because it wasn’t. He would never cheat on Eliza again. “Okay, deal. Now, can I go back in there? I’m worried about her.”

“You’re not the only one,” she mumbled under her breath before opening the door, forgetting that Alexander was leaning against it.

Falling in, Alexander let out a huff the minute his shoulder hit the ground. It wasn’t all that painful, but it still didn’t feel pleasant.

As Alexander went to get up, his eyes fell on Eliza as she made her way towards him. A look of concern was etched on her face.

Just as she went to crouch down near him, Alexander stood up and cupped her elbows, pulling her up as well. “You need to get back in bed, darling.”

“I feel fine, Alex. I want to walk around.” Knowing that Alex was a sucker for her, she pouted her bottom lip. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t have it.

Instead of pushing her towards the bed, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her.

“You might feel fine, but you still have drugs in your system. The side effects, long term, aren’t threatening but the doctor still wants you to rest. That’s why we’re not going on the trip and that’s why you're—”

“Actually,” Philip interrupted, helping Alex by pulling the sheets down on the bed, “I said that she could go, but the first day needs to be pretty calm. She needs to detox to get the chemicals out of her body, so I’ll run to the store and get her the things she needs, Could you take her back to my house for the time being?”

Alexander glanced down at Eliza and let out a huff as soon as he placed her on the bed. She was much more stubborn, but he couldn’t help but like the challenge. So, the look of disdain turned into a small smile. “Fine.”

To Alexander’s surprise, Eliza took his hand and kissed it, winking at him after. “Thank you, darling.”

He wanted to playfully swat at her, but he decided against it. They weren’t in that stage of their relationship yet.

As Alexander looked up, he noticed Angelica standing there, staring at him with a look of caution. _Take care of her_ , her eyes practically screamed. She should’ve known that he would take care of Eliza.

It seemed as if Angelica was going to say something as he continued to look at her, but the hospital room door burst open, a doctor, who appeared to be middle-aged, presenting himself.

When the doctor noticed that Eliza was up and aware, he smiled, jotting something down on his clipboard. Then, he looked back at her. “How are you, Eliza? ”

“I’m doing well!” Eliza chirped with a smile. After tugging the sheets over her body, she shifted around and got comfortable. Once she was in a satisfactory position asked, “When will I be discharged?”

“I just came to talk to you about that,” the doctor assured, “but first I want to talk to you about the incident.”

The night before was nothing but a blur. She didn’t know exactly what happened after she took a sip of her drink when Alexander had left. He drank it as well, so the drug must’ve been slipped in when he was away.

“What about it?” she questioned, pulling Alexander down to sit on her bed. Once he was sitting, she scooted a little closer to him and leaned on his shoulder. “Just everything I remember?”

“And if you want to report it to the police.” The doctor nodded. “Do you?”

It wasn’t that Eliza didn’t want to report it, she just didn’t know what to report. She was drugged, but she wasn’t raped, thankfully. Would it have been considered attempted rape?

“How long do I have to report something for this type of incident?”

“Three to six months for abuse,” Peggy spoke, giving Eliza a pointed look before continuing. “For attempted rape, there’s no time limit. We just need to find out who in the hell slipped something in your drink so we know who we’re accusing.”

“It probably wasn’t Tench, but there was a guy sitting behind you with dreads,” Eliza spoke up, grasping onto Alex’s forearm as she rested her weight against his sturdy upper half.

“Oh, okay,” Alexander murmured, glancing down at her. He was glad of the news but he already wanted to kill the fucker that left a bruise on her wrist. Now he had two people he wanted to kill. Might as well have given him a knife and called him Dexter.

“Care to share what you remember?” The doctor rose a brow.

Mustering up what she remembered proved to be a challenge for Eliza. She didn’t remember much of what had happened, only because she was completely out of it and actually woke up only moments before the doctor walked in. After spending a few minutes to think, Eliza figured out what she wanted to say.

“When we first got to the bar, I saw this man behind Alexander and he had dreadlocks like Alex said. However, he was much older than Tench. He had some grey in his beard and he looked pretty torn up. He was looking straight at me. It made me a little uncomfortable, but I thought it was fine. I’m not saying that it was him, but he’s definitely a suspect.”

As Alexander’s grip on her hand increasingly grew tighter, she gently nudged him. He let go while muttering several apologies.

“There’s really only one other person in question, and that’s Isaac.”

“Isaac?” Alexander inquired, glancing at her in confusion.

“The bartender,” Eliza informed him before continuing. “Alexander saw that he was looking at my cleavage. I don’t think it would be a motive and we actually talked, so I don’t think he could have. All I know was that he was close in proximity when Alexander was gone, but I really don’t know.”

Slowly, Alexander pulled himself from Eliza’s grasp, causing her to raise a brow. He was mumbling something under his breath, but it was incoherent.

“I should go and ask to see the security footage, I—”

“You’re taking me home and we’re going on a trip, Alexander,” Eliza reinforced before turning back to the doctor. “Can I please have my discharge papers?”

For a moment, the room went silent. The doctor looked around, making sure everyone seemed satisfied. Once he looked back at Eliza, he nodded.

“Sure.”

* * *

“Once you take a nap, we can go.”

Alexander shot Eliza a curious glance as she took a seat at the end of the couch. He was laying the opposite way, his feet in her lap when he really wanted his head in their place. Although she said she’d be fine with it, he didn’t want to step over any boundaries. Not only that, but when Eliza proposed the idea, Angelica shot Alexander a dirty look before walking into the other room.

Playing with fire always burned.

“Do I really have to sleep? You just said relax. If I sleep, I might not wake up for a while and I’m not too pleasant when I’m forced to wake up. Would you really want to put up with that?” Alexander cocked an arched brow, shooting her a somewhat tired, but playful smile her way.

Eliza rolled her large, brown eyes and stood up. She sauntered to the opposite side of the couch and muttered, “Sit up.”

“What, why?” Sitting up anyway, he shot her an inquisitive look until he realized what she was doing.

Once getting comfortable in her seat, she pulled Alexander’s head into her lap and began to stroke his hair. “You may be stubborn, but so am I.”

A woman after his own heart.

A smile toyed on his lips before his eyes fluttered shut. “Will you sing me to sleep?”

“Oh boy.” A heat rose to her cheeks, heart rate increasing at the request. Although she loved to sing, she hated doing it in front of people. Instead of singing, she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Sing.”

“Yeah, Eliza! Sing!” Peggy encouraged, walking into the living room. The moment her eyes fell on the couple, she let out a gasp and held a finger up. “Let me get a picture. Act natural!”

Again, Eliza rolled her eyes before kicking her feet up and placing them on the coffee table. “I’m not singing,” she said to Alexander then glanced at Peggy, “and send me the picture.”

“Fine, then I’m gonna go to sleep,” Alexander playfully settled before rolling on his side. As soon as he buried his face in her stomach, he closed his eyes and looked as if he was trying to get some sort of sleep.

“I didn’t know I was dating a man-child,” Eliza giggled as soon as he seemed to be in a comfortable doze. “He’s sweet, though. I guess I’ll keep dating him.”

Peggy smiled at what Eliza said after taking the picture. It was nice to see her sister happy. Not that Eliza wasn’t happy with Tench for a while, but Peggy swore that even then, her sister wasn’t as happy as she was with Alexander. The man in her lap brought Eliza joy and that was all she wanted for her sisters.

“He’s also pretty amazing. When we all got to the hospital, he was covered in puke but he wouldn’t leave your side. He said he knew that you would be fine, but he was mumbling about you not leaving him when he needed you most or something like that.” Peggy scrunched her brows together, trying to remember what he said exactly but it wouldn’t come to her.

“I threw up on him?” Eliza quietly gasped, diverting her eyes to the man in her lap. He was nodding.

So he wasn’t asleep, but he was trying.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Alex. I—”

He held his finger up to her lip, silencing her. Then, he peeped one eye opened and muffled something into her abdomen.

“What?”

“Why would I throw a hissy fit about some throw up when I needed to take care of you? You couldn’t help it, Liza.” With that, he rolled his head back to where it was buried into her stomach.

“I’d marry him if I were you,” Peggy mumbled before leaning back in a chair adjacent to the couch.

Eliza swore she could feel Alexander smile against her stomach and she couldn’t help but nudge him. However, a smile snuck up onto her face as well. As much as she tried to stop herself, she couldn’t help it.

Alexander _was_ her husband at one point.

Pulling herself from what she understood was the past, Eliza finally shook her head. “I just broke a proposal. It will be a while, but I think we complement each other pretty well.”

While Eliza, Peggy, and Alexander rested, Angelica made her way into the living room, took a seat, and decided that it would be the best time to inconvenience the new couple. Well, Eliza at least.

“When are you going to report Tench’s abuse and the attempted rape? The sooner the better, you know,” she murmured, placing her wine glass on a table at the chair’s side. “I wouldn’t wait much longer.”

Eliza knew exactly what Angelica was doing and it was almost infuriating, but she maintained her composure as a fake smile slipped onto her face. “I will as soon as my break is over. For once, I want to be able to take a deep breath and not worry about fifty things at a time. Dad said he would talk to the manager of the bar as well as talk to George about getting an attorney. As for now, I simply want to step out of the action and enjoy my time.”

Angelica bit her lip, looking at Eliza with a certain intensity that almost intimidated the middle sister. “You’re being unrealistic.”

“Okay.” If wanting a break was unrealistic, so be it.

Although Angelica was going to lecture her sister further, she shut her mouth the minute Alexander sat up. Rubbing his eyes gently, he glanced at Eliza.

“I can’t sleep,” he said, stretching out despite only being down for a few minutes. “Everything is packed. We should just go.”

“But Alexander—”

She was silenced when he place a hand on her thigh.

“I’ll get a coffee if I get too tired. Don’t worry about me. You do that too much.” Alexander stood up, stretching his legs out as well before holding a hand out for his love. “Let’s commence with our journey.”

“ _Commence_ ,” Angelica quietly scoffed, but she was ignored by the love birds.

While Alexander packed the things—he urged Eliza to not do any heavy lifting since the drugs might have still been in her system—Eliza said goodbye to her family.

She started with Angelica first, muttering a brief farewell. As much as she loved Angelica, it was hard to show much affection towards her at that moment. Eliza understood that Angelica was trying to protect her, but she was doing it in all of the wrong ways.

After Angelica came Peggy, and her goodbye was more endearing.

“Don’t forget to tell Alex to wear a condom,” Peggy said with a playful tone in her voice. She was quick to pull Eliza into her arms and press a juicy kiss to her bigger sister’s cheek.

“We won’t need one,” Eliza replied with the same humor in her voice, despite being serious. It was going to be a while before they did anything promiscuous. She slipped out of her sister’s grasp and pointedly wiped the smooch from her cheek before focusing her attention elsewhere.

Finally, she walked up to her father and he couldn’t help but smile when he pulled her into an embrace. “So strong, you’re so resilient. You pulled through last night and today like a bull.”

Philip’s wording was amusing to Eliza, but she understood what he meant. She was surprised herself, but with forgetting the night before and not really noticing any of the long-term side effects, it made it feel like it was nothing but a bad night. Eliza was okay for now.

“Thanks, Daddy. I love you and I promise that nothing will happen. Don’t listen to Peggy,” Eliza insisted, standing on her tiptoes so she could give her father a quick peck on the cheek.

As Eliza pulled away, he took a hold of her forearm, which made her look back.

“I don’t need any grandkids yet,” he joked before letting go. “Now, go to him.”

Eliza happily made her way out of the house after grabbing her detoxifying items that she’d placed by the door. All she wanted to do was rest her feet on the dash while Alexander drove down an open road. The trip was going to be fun if she could help it. Leaving the shit behind would be good for her.

Once taking a seat in the car and placing the bag at her feet, she closed the door behind her. “I’m really excited.”

“Are you?” Alexander chuckled, taking a grasp of her hand. “Are you feeling okay?”

While sitting back, Eliza kicked her feet up on the dash and reclined slightly. Getting comfortable was her main priority. Then, she turned to Alexander. “I am just as okay as the last time you asked.”

When Eliza put it that way, it did seem like he asked her quite a lot. So, he laughed and kissed her hand. “Well, okay. Ready?”

With the engine roaring the moment he turned on the ignition, excitement pulsed through Eliza’s veins. Running away for a week was just what she needed.

“Let’s go.”


	16. Chapter 16

_“Eliza, you must get ready. The general desires our attendance to supper. ‘Tis early to leave, but it will take many an hour to get there.” Alexander spoke urgently as he adjusted the cravat hanging from his neck. Out of his vanity, he peered into the mirror, slicking back his ginger, but powdered hair. **  
**_

_Glancing up, Eliza smiled slightly. He looked handsome both in uniform and formal wear, but since the war ended, she more often saw him in nothing but common clothing. It was nice that he took a break, but he still kept himself busy. Between caring for Philip and studying to be a lawyer, he always found something to do. Having Alexander home was the best. She actually got to enjoy their marriage and admire him as a father._

_After appreciating Alexander’s presence for a moment, she decided to stand up, but the task proved to be a bit difficult. With her belly being what felt like a yard in front of her, it was incredibly hard to hoist herself up. So, to draw Alexander’s attention, she cleared her throat._

_Alexander turned to his wife, a humorous smile making its way onto his face when he glanced down at her stomach. Clothing could no longer mask her pregnancy and when some thought of it as obscene, Alexander enjoyed feeling his child squirm under his hand._

_“You may have to hoist me up,” she laughed when she noticed the smile on his face._

_“I can see,” Alexander chuckled himself, making his way over to his wife. Once reaching her, he pulled her up from the bed and rested one hand on the small of her back and the other on her stomach. From what he could tell, the baby was napping and wasn’t moving. “How is my son today, Eliza?”_

_“It could be a girl, my love,” Eliza replied, placing a hand on top of his. “She is amazing.”_

_Before Alexander could say much else, an amused scream came from the other room. The only person it could’ve been was Philip._

_Letting out a sigh, Alexander pulled away from his wife. It was rare they had any time to themselves, but it was okay. Eliza squeezed his hand out of endearment, letting him know that she would get him without any words. She went to leave, but Alexander nudged her towards the bed._

_“You get ready, my dear. I shall get our naughty son.” He flashed an entertained smile at her before exiting the room._

_Eliza was glad that she was no longer so helpless._

When Eliza opened her eyes, she found herself staring at the creamy ceiling of a room. At first, she didn’t know where she was. Then, she heard Alexander’s voice. Looking to her left, she found him sitting on a queen bed, facing away from her as he spoke to someone on the phone. His voice sounded engaged, but his body language said otherwise. He was slumped over, supporting himself by propping his forearm on his thigh. It wasn’t any sort of posture that was good for his back, but she felt as if trying to correct him wouldn’t be any help. Habits were habits.

Trying to listen in to a conversation was rude, but Eliza couldn’t help it. She rolled onto her side and finally picked up on what he was saying.

“Thanks for asking! She’s doing okay. Much better than when you saw her last night when you dropped off my clothes. She fell asleep in the car, so I had to carry her in. Not much of a burden, I… love being able to hold her again.” As Alexander mused about Eliza, his posture straightened and he leaned against his hand once he rested it on the bed behind him.

Watching Alexander come to life at the mention of her caused Eliza’s heart to flutter and a smile to find its way to her face.

However, the distressed sound of the voice over the phone caused Eliza to frown.

Who was Alexander talking to?

“Yes, again, John. I know you don’t believe me or whatever, but that’s okay.” Alexander sighed, the life practically drained from him again. If Eliza could have, she would’ve crawled onto his bed and wrapped her arms around him from behind, but she didn’t want to intrude.

“I need to go,” Alexander suddenly said, slouching again. “I need to check on Eliza. I probably need to wake her up, too. She hasn’t had anything to drink in a while and she needs to flush the shit from her system… Okay, I love you too, John. Bye.”

The moment Alexander hung up, Eliza fell back in the position she was lying in when she woke up. She closed her eyes as well in hopes of tricking Alexander, but she kept one eye slightly open to spy on him.

He stretched out a bit, standing up once he was comfortable. Before he turned around, he placed his phone on the nightstand, then, he turned to Eliza.

A smile made its way on his face as he inched closer to her, making it hard for Eliza to suppress her own. Alexander looked so in love with her and it warmed her heart.

It seemed that Alexander picked up on her arousal, so when he sat on the edge of her bed, he reached over and dug his fingers into her sides.

Eliza was always most ticklish around her waist, so a sense of joy filled Alexander when she jerked slightly under his touch. She emitted a high pitched squeal once he began tickling her, her body twisting and turning in his grasp.

In order to keep her from flailing, he crawled up on his knees and pinned her down by straddling her hips. “Sneaky!” he proclaimed as he continued, moving his hands from her waist to her armpits.

Panting, Eliza continued to laugh and thrash around, trying to pull herself from under him. “Alex!” She squealed, tears nearly springing to her eyes as she laughed. “Please!”

Abiding her request, he pulled his hands from her body and crossed them over his chest. A look of amusement was on his face as she looked up at him. “How long have you been up, you trickster?”

Trying to recover from her fit of laughter, she breathed heavily. “Only a few minutes. I heard the last of your conversation.”

Alexander nodded at her admittance, uncrossing his arms while he gazed down at her.

The blush on her plumped cheeks and the way that the light caught her eyes caused Alexander’s heart skip a beat. Maybe it was the dim lighting, but Alexander was slowly becoming aroused.

 _Maybe Peggy was right about the condoms_ , Alexander thought as Eliza began to sit up and close the space between them.

Batting her eyes and leaning in closer and closer seemed to do the trick. Alexander began to lean in as well, but at the last moment, when Alexander was vulnerable, Eliza managed to flip him over to where she was now sitting on top of him.

“Such a sucker,” Eliza playfully tutted, patting his cheek before pushing herself off of the bed. As much as she wanted to give in, she had to remember that she needed to pace herself.

“I just got played,” Alexander breathed, sitting up on the bed. To hide his boner, he grabbed a pillow off of his bed and rested it on his lap, then he looked back at Eliza. She was grabbing a big water bottle that her dad shoved lemon slices and cucumbers into to help her detox from the bag he packed it in.

When Eliza turned around, a playful looked crossed her face. “You did, Mr. Alexander ’I-Think-With-Two-Heads’ Hamilton.”

Alexander couldn’t help but snicker. “You’re a very desirable woman, Liza. I respect you, though. I’d never pressure you into something you didn’t want to do.”

After pushing himself off of the bed as well, Alexander came up behind Eliza and hugged her.

In response, she placed a hand on top of his. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Let’s go on a date,” she suddenly proposed.

Seconds later, Alexander spun her in his grasp and rose a brow in surprise. “But Eliza… The last date we went on, you were drugged and spent a night in the hospital.”

Eliza rolled her eyes, pulling her body out of his grasp. “And?”

“I don’t know,” Alexander mumbled, eyes turning to the ground as he thought. “Isn’t it a bit soon?”

Taking a sip from her drink, Eliza leaned against the drawer behind her and thought. “Not really?”

Alexander wasn’t about to turn down a date with Eliza, but he didn’t want them to go out. He was too concerned with the possibility of the events of the night before replaying and that was the last thing he wanted.  

“How about this?” Alexander took both of her hands. “We stay here in our room and get room service. We can have a little date here. We can stay in where it’s nice and comfy, and talk over a bottle of detox water.”

When Alexander’s eyes fell to the bottle of water sitting right next to Eliza, a smile crept onto her face. “That sounds nice, actually.”

The minor victory caused Alexander to sigh in relief. Although being drugged again was improbable, he didn’t want to risk it at that moment.

“Well,” Alexander hummed, “let’s have a date.”

* * *

In order to make it feel more like a date, Alexander ran to a store nearby to get a candle after ordering the food.

While he was out, Eliza prepared a bit herself, getting dressed in something moderately formal. This was only their second date, and she wanted to look nice, but not to an overbearing extent. The date was in their hotel suite, after all, not anywhere fancy.

After getting dressed, she decided to spiff the place up a bit, focusing on the kitchen area at least. Whilst doing so, she put a flower from her bouquet in a makeshift vase made out of an empty water bottle and placed it in the middle of the island she presumed that they were going to eat on. Other than that, there wasn’t much she could do but wait.

By the time Alexander got back, the food had already arrived. As he walked in, he was hit in the face by the smell of steak, which was rather enthralling.

Looking towards the kitchen, a small smile made its way to his face. Eliza was sitting there, all dressed up. She was looking down at something on her phone with a grin on her face and he couldn’t help but wonder what was making her so happy. It was the most beautiful thing in the world; what deserved her happiness?

When he shut the door behind him, Eliza looked up and sat the phone aside. “Did you find a candle?”

“Yep!” Alexander held up the bag, a look of success resting on his features. “Can you light it? I should probably coordinate with you a bit.”

Alexander gestured to his sweats and tee shirt, causing Eliza let out a quiet chuckle. “I guess you’re right.”

Once receiving the candle and a box of matches, Eliza set it between the plates and lit the candle. It was scentless, but it still created a mood which was nice.

Setting the things aside, Eliza turned around and rose her brows in surprise. Alexander was already dressed. Although he was only in a polo shirt and some black jeans, he still looked pretty formal.

As he took a seat across from Eliza, he couldn’t help but admire the light glimmering in her eyes. She looked immensely satisfied, which was good.

“I never got the chance to ask you,” Alexander murmured, starting a conversation, “how was your sleep?”

Although the question shouldn’t have come as a surprise, it caught Eliza off guard. She’d fallen asleep in the car early in the trip and what she starkly remembered was the dream she had right before she woke up. It all seemed so familiar, even the strange feeling of being far into a pregnancy.

Finally glancing up at her date, she took his hand gently. “I had this dream.”

“What kind of dream?” Instead of attempting to take a bite of his food, he decided that it would’ve been better to listen to his love. So many hours were wasted on the nation lifetimes ago, he wanted to dedicate every second to her.

“Well, you were getting ready to go see George Washington and you were saying that I needed to get dressed. I tried to get up on my own but I was really, really pregnant and was having a rough time getting up myself. You helped me up and just held me for a minute. And—”

“Oh my god…” Alexander’s eyes widened, looking into hers in surprise. A smile snuck its way onto his face and he sprung to his feet quickly. “Oh my god! You’re remembering!”

Blinking a few times, Eliza thought back to it and she realized that she remembered everything exactly as it was in the dream, but it was more like a memory.

It was a memory that’d been long forgotten but was returning.

“I… I—”

“I would always love to talk to your stomach,” Alexander murmured, instinctively brushing his fingers along her flat stomach. “Say hello to the babies, love on you…” A fond grin formed on his face. “God, you’re finally remembering.”

When Eliza spotted tears building up in his eyes, she couldn’t help but giggle. Gently cupping his cheeks, she tilted his head up slightly and stared into his chocolate eyes. “I suppose I am.”

Immediately, Alexander wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “My love, you’re my love. I am so incredibly in love with you, my god.”

Eliza’s heart swelled with emotion, her arms instantly wrapping around him as the feeling of pure admiration flooded her senses. She’d never felt so happy before, even with Tench. It was far too early to be in love if they’d only met two weeks ago, but in reality, she’d known him for over two-hundred years and was married to him for over twenty-three.

Was it really so wrong to say that she loved him back?

Before she could get a word in, Alexander sat back down on his chair, a giant grin engraved on his face. He looked so happy, content even.

Sliding into her chair as well, Eliza took a seat and sipped on her water. “You loved me so much…”

“I still do,” Alexander spoke up, placing a hand on her thigh. “I will forever.”

Eliza couldn’t help but grin, but she just couldn’t say that she loved him back. She couldn’t get the words to come out of her mouth.

Instead of worrying about her inability to show her affections, she placed a hand on top of Alexander’s and asked, “Will you tell me more about that time? It seemed so pleasant.”

To Alexander’s surprise, Eliza scooted over slightly and leaned against him, pulling her plate over as well. In a natural response, he wrapped an arm around her and continued to eat.

In between bites, however, he spoke.

“The most pleasant part of our marriage was when I first came home from the war. You were about seven months along with Philip and let me tell you, I was over the moon. I’d gotten news before, but seeing you and knowing that you were healthy and he was healthy… the feeling was beyond amazing, Eliza.”

The excitement in Eliza was enough to keep her from being hungry. She would’ve rather sat on the bed and talked. When glancing at Alexander, she found that he was getting emotional. A big smile was slathered across his face and his eyes watered from jubilant tears. The feelings, the emotions were so real for Alexander and knowing how passionate he was, she didn’t know what else to expect.

“Alex, can we move this to the bed or somewhere more comfortable?” Eliza asked suddenly.

Glancing down at his food, then at hers, he frowned. She barely ate, but he didn’t want to pressure her to continue.

Instead of protesting, he hopped down from the chair and aided her as she stepped down herself.

Eliza was the first to climb on the bed and get comfortable. Once she was sitting, leaning against the pillows, she patted the spot beside her and smiled at Alexander.

Desperate for her touch, Alexander scrambled to get into the bed and wrapped an arm around her.

To his surprise, she melded into his side, resting one hand on his stomach and her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her, finding her big, brown eyes smiling back at him.

“Keep telling me about the past.”

Alexander smiled. “Gladly.”

While really picking at his brain to find things he really wanted to remind her of, Eliza glanced down at her hand that was resting on his clothing-clad stomach. There was something similar about how she just rested it there so instinctively.

“We would always lay like this while we talked before falling asleep,” Alexander spoke up, practically reading her mind. “I would lay down and you would cuddle up to me once you were done washing your face and had your hair tied up in a braid. Just like this.”

Placing a hand on top of hers, Alexander looked back at her. “You would ask me about my day, and I would tell you everything. ‘'Twas wonderful!’, ‘Jefferson is such a vexatious man, I cannot fathom why George would pick such an insufferable being,’ ‘’Twas a terrible day, Betsey. Now I am by your side and your charm has suffocated the anger inside me.’”

Eliza could vaguely remember what he was talking about. They would talk—Alexander would talk—into the mere hours of the morning, putting Eliza to sleep. She could distinctly remember that Alexander didn’t have a mute button, though. That was _engraved_ into her mind.

“You would always fall asleep in my arms,” Alexander said as he pulled her a little bit closer. “I didn’t blame you, though. I never gave you the time to speak your mind or say how your day was. Sadly, I always put myself first. I’ve been working on that, though. You before me. That’s how it will be for the rest of eternity.”

When Alexander tucked a strand of hair out of Eliza’s face and glanced down at her with rather enticing eyes, she felt her heart pound, as well as a familiar fire light within her. Eliza didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was the way his hair was slicked back. Maybe it was the passion dancing in his eyes. Maybe it was the enchanting smile that allured her in the first place.

Slowly, Eliza pushed herself up on the bed, making them see eye to eye.

Alexander looked confused, unsure of what her next move would be. Moving her hand from his stomach to his cheek, she shifted up a little more. Then, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.

When it came to Eliza, Alexander was defenseless. Every touch sent him into a state of ecstasy, but when they kissed, he was at an all time high.

Her lips were intoxicating and Alexander wanted to get a taste any moment he could.

In a fervorous fashion, Alexander pulled her onto his lap, keeping his hands on her waist as she straddled him.

For a moment, Eliza parted from him to get some air. Her breaths were heavy and labored, but once she caught it, she leaned in and kissed him again.

Letting out a guttural groan of pleasure, Alexander pulled away for a minute before asking, “Can I take your shirt off, baby?”

_“Alex, I am not too sure if I desire this.”_

_Alexander stood a few feet away, his bare butt in full view for Eliza. Their bedroom door was locked, keeping any roaming children from wandering into their bedroom._

_Turning around, a look of endearment overtook his features. Briskly walking to the bed, he took a seat next to her and grasped onto her hand. “I understand, my love. What I did was highly dishonorable and you need your time. I shall not infringe upon it if you request me not to.”_

_It’d been awhile since they had sex. Ever since the scandal, Eliza’s been sensitive to the subject. Imagining his hands on the mistress’ breasts, waist, buttocks, was enough to make her feel as if she wasn’t worthy of his touch._

The memory slapped Eliza in the face, causing her to stifle a gasp.

“Eliza?”

Looking back at Alexander, she found that his face was flushed and his eyes were dilated in pure sexual arousal. She hated to say no, but she knew he would understand.

_She knew him._

“No… I don’t think I’m ready for this,” she finally admitted, crawling off of Alexander. She sat on the bed beside her, guilt clouding her vision.

“Eliza.”

Alexander grasped onto her hand and kissed it several times. “Don’t you dare feel guilty for not wanting to have sex. You’re not ready.”

The pure sincerity in Alexander’s voice pacified her, yet it’d been so long. So, so long.

“I’m sorry.” Eliza crawled to her bed and collapsed once she reached it. Again, she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

Although Alexander knew he should’ve let her alone, it never hurt to comfort her.

Alexander stood up and made his way to her bed. He took a seat once he reached it and scooted to where he could be a little closer.

“I don’t want your apology because you don’t owe me one.” Slowly, he began to run his fingers through her bob and smiled when she turned to face him.

“After all of this time, I should be comfortable with you. I am in some aspect, but when you put your hands on me and started touching me, I remembered how it felt to be betrayed like that.” A few tears managed to slip down her cheeks and Alexander hastily wiped them away.

“Everything you feel right now is valid, my love. Scared, betrayed, hurt. I wish I could take your pain away, but I can’t. I can comfort you though if that’s what you want.” Alexander smiled at Eliza in a comforting fashion, but it was obvious that he was concerned. “Also, I want you to know that I will never hurt you again. I have had so much time to think about what I’ve done. So many lifetimes have passed and I’ve remained chaste. This is my promise to you, my promise that I will never break your heart ever again.”

“You can’t promise me that, Alexander.” Eliza shuffled up slightly and moved aside, letting Alexander on the bed again.

“I never want to see you in that much pain again, Liza. Of course I can promise that to you.”

From what Alexander could tell, Eliza’s eyes were weighing heavy yet again. He didn’t know why she was so tired, but he’d let her sleep.

Pushing himself up from the bed, he sauntered his way to her suitcase and opened it. He grabbed the first comfy clothes he could find—a loose tee and some Nike shorts—and made his way back.

While Eliza sat up and began stripping down, Alexander took a seat on the bed and handed over the shirt.

Eliza took it from him but set it aside before turning around. “Will you unfasten it?”

Although Alexander was surprised by the task at hand, he still sat all things aside and came up behind her and took a seat on the bed.

“I’m surprised you’re not changing in the bathroom,” Alexander admitted as he unlatched the three hooks.

“You were my husband, weren’t you?” Eliza glanced over her shoulder, a twinge of playfulness in her words. Once shrugging off the bra, she held a hand out for her shirt.

A deep chuckle resonated from Alexander as he handed the shirt over and stood up. “Can I put my hands on your hips?”

The fact that Alexander asked meant a lot to Eliza. Most people wouldn’t have.

“Go ahead.”

“You know,” Alexander murmured as he placed one hand on her hip and the other over the tattoo on her back, “I haven’t dated in any of my other lifetimes.”

“You’re serious?” Eliza almost laughed, turning towards him as soon as she pulled on her shirt. “You’re being serious?”

Alexander shrugged as if it was nothing, holding the shorts out for Eliza for when she needed him. “I’ve remembered everything from my lifetime with you. Why would I need to date or marry anyone when I had you in my heart the whole time?”

After unbuttoning the sleek dress pants, she slid them down her legs and off completely. Then, she took the shorts and pulled them on.

Once she was completely changed, she took grasp of both of Alexander’s hands and held them up to her lips before kissing them. “You’re quite charming.”

“I just happen to be madly in love…” For what he thought would be the last time for the night, Alexander leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Bonne nuit, mon amour.”

At first, Eliza was going to let Alexander slip away. At first, she laid down in bed and tried to go to sleep with Alexander on the other bed.

Something just didn’t feel right, though. For the first time in forever, she felt naked and it was because Alexander wasn’t there.

After the lights went out and both of them were already in bed, Eliza glanced over at Alexander. Although the room was practically pitch black, she could still see the outline of his body. He was rolled on his side, and from what it looked like, he was hugging something.

 _Maybe sleeping by his side wouldn’t be a bad thing_ , Eliza thought before getting up.

“Eliza, what are you doing?” Alexander whispered, noticing that she was making her way over.

“Scoot a bit,” she whispered back, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I want to sleep with you.”

Alexander was completely caught off guard but scooted over anyway. He would take any chance he could get to embrace her.

Instead of falling into a spooning position like he thought they would, Eliza and Alexander’s chests touched as she cuddled up to him. Very gently, she pressed a kiss to his jaw and tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

They took a while to get completely comfortable, but once they did, Eliza whispered, “You should grow your scruff out.”

The suggestion tickled Alexander, but he was too tired to laugh. Instead, he peppered kisses to her cheek, allowing his scruff to scratch against them. She laughed, which made him smile. “Good night.”

Once Eliza’s eyes finally weighed heavy, she pressed one more kiss to Alexander’s cheek. “Good night. I love you.”

Those three words caused Alexander to gasp. The words rolled off of her tongue so naturally, and they had been. They had been for over twenty-three years many years ago and yet they still held the same weight, the same depth.

Did she even mean it?

“Eliza?” Alexander beckoned, leaning in to see if she was awake. She wasn’t, so he laid back and sighed.

Everything was too perfect. Things could either continue to go well or crash and burn and although Alexander hoped it was the second of the two, he could never tell.

But at that moment, Alexander knew he needed to take it all in. Eliza, his love, was in his arms. She kissed him and meant it. Sure, the memories were still faded but she was remembering. It wasn’t where he wanted to to be yet, but they would get there.

For the moment, that would be enough.


	17. Chapter 17

Alexander’s hotel bed felt just a bit bigger when he woke up in the early morning. At first, he hadn’t noticed. He’d been sleeping by himself for over two-hundred years without a woman in his arms but when he couldn’t go back to sleep for no apparent reason, he realized something was missing. **  
**

Wondering where she was, Alexander sat up and turned the small lamp between the two beds on. Eliza wasn’t on the bed next to him or on the ground in between, so he turned to the bathroom in hopes that she was there instead. Alas, the light was off.

“Where could she be?” Alexander quietly questioned as he shoved himself up from the bed. The lamp was the only light that illuminated the room, so he assumed that she was out…and that scared him.

Who knew what kind of people roamed hotel hallways early in the morning? Alexander was almost sure that she was fine, but it still made him extremely nervous.

While stretching out, Alexander noticed that Eliza left her phone on the nightstand, so a pit began to form in her stomach.

Why did she not have her phone?

Hastily grabbing the phone, Alexander pressed the home button to only find a picture of Pip and Ange lighting up the screen. He let out a quiet groan and pulled down the notification menu. Again, nothing.

Eliza had to be somewhere in the hotel. First off, she didn’t have a car. Secondly, she’d have nowhere else to go. Finally, he knew her. It was out of character for her to just wander off…unless something bad had happened.

“Oh God,” Alexander whispered, pulling on a tee shirt as he shuffled around to get ready to go out and look for her. “Oh God, oh God. I lost Eliza!”

The sense of dread began to fill Alexander as he looked around the suite one last time. She was not in the bathroom or anywhere else in the room, so she had to be somewhere in the hotel.

That was what Alexander hoped.

Rather frantically for a man at six in the morning, Alexander ran around the hotel, desperately looking for Eliza. He knew for a fact that she wouldn’t be in the pool because it wasn’t indoors and was quite chilly outside. That left only a couple of other places and he couldn’t find her all until he wandered into the dining hall.

Surprisingly, Eliza was the only one in the room. Her pale face was red from crying, her eyes droopy and bloodshot. A semi-permanent frown was on her face and in her grasp was a cup of coffee.

It almost felt like Alexander’s heart stopped when he saw her so incredibly distraught. He didn’t know what happened or what she remembered, but it was clear that it wasn’t good.

Eliza didn’t notice he was there until Alexander walked farther into the dining hall, and once she saw him, she flew back into a fit of erratic sobbing.

Quickly, Alexander flew to her side and pulled her into his arms. He never wanted to see Eliza so incredibly upset and his heart ached to see her that way.

“My love, what troubles you? Why do you cry? Will you share?” Scooting a bit closer, Alexander pressed a kiss to her head and held her tight. If he could take the pain away, he would.

“Philip,” Eliza whimpered, seeking comfort in Alexander’s arms.

At first, Alexander didn’t understand what she meant. What about him? Was she talking about the dog or their son?

Then, it clicked.

It was apparent when he realized that she regained the memories of their first born’s death. She must’ve remembered it in her sleep because nothing seemed to be wrong before she fell asleep. Now, she was a mess and all Alexander wanted to do was comfort her.

“Baby… Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Alexander inquired, pulling her tighter to his chest.

“Answers,” she rasped. With heavy eyes, Eliza glanced over at Alexander. “I want answers, but first I want to sleep and hope the heartache goes away.”

The heartache went away with time and with her just remembering how her son died, she was going to need that time.

“Let me carry you,” Alexander more so mumbled to himself as he stood up. Once he knew he was stable, he scooped Eliza up in a surprisingly swift motion. He was only a few inches taller and expected her to be a bit heavier, but she wasn’t.

Eliza didn’t protest like she most probably would’ve if she was feeling herself. Instead, she rested her head on Alexander’s shoulder and let out a hopeless sigh. “I knew he died… I just forgot how painful…it…” She let out another whimper and buried her face in Alexander’s neck.

“Shh… We can talk when we get upstairs, okay?” Alexander cooed in her ear, doing his best to comfort her in some fashion. She was just so heartbroken and it hurt to see her that way. It was going to come eventually, Alexander knew that much, but he wished it hadn’t hit her so hard.

Once reaching their hotel room, Alexander placed her on his bed. Immediately, she curled up around a pillow and buried her face in its white fluffiness.

Nothing could console a mother after losing a child and Alexander knew it. When they lost Philip lifetimes ago, only time healed and once she was able to actually look Alexander in the eye again, it was on his deathbed.

Alexander couldn’t let that happen again. He used to throw caution to the wind, but clearly, it only broke Eliza up.

Proceeding with caution was a very un-Alexander thing to do, but if it protected his love and family, he was willing to do so.

Climbing onto the bed, Alexander placed a hand on her back and began to gently rub it in a comforting manner. “Hey, you said you wanted answers. Do you want those now or will you want to talk later?”

Turning to look at Alex, Eliza sniffles before shaking her head. “Can you hold me?”

Despite the melancholy mood, a smile found its way to Alexander’s face as he pulled her into his arms. The way she rested her head on his shoulder and allowed him to wrap his arms around her waist brought back memories. It was rare they would sit in such a position, but he did remember one night right before they had their third child, Alexander Junior.

_“Alexander, why must we keep having children?” Eliza asked between pants. Perched on the bed, legs parted so Eliza could sit between them, Alexander let out a breathy chuckle._

_“We keep having children because we want them, darling.” Reaching forward, Alexander pushed a strand of brunette hair from Eliza’s face. Her hair was going in any which way, which was understandable. She’d been in labor for a few hours now and it was very painful._

_“We need to take a break,” she breathed, resting her head on his shoulder. “I need the break. Will you permit it?”_

_Just as Alexander went to answer, Angelica burst through the door. A smile was on her face as she gazed over the two of them. “I fetched the doctor. Do you believe you are ready?”_

_Eliza scrunched her eyebrows together in concentration as she thought. She didn’t feel ready, so she shook her head. She might have been mistaken, however. “I do not know, sister. Can you send him in?”_

_“Surely, Betsey.” Sparing a smile for the couple, Angelica turned around and shut the door behind her._

“We used to sit like then when I was pregnant, didn’t we?” Eliza sniffed, glancing up at Alexander.

While he reminisced, she remembered.

Glancing down at Eliza, Alexander couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Yeah. We’d sit and you’d complain about not having any more kids, but we just kept having them.”

Out of instinct, Alexander’s hands fell to her stomach and he pushed the shirt over her belly slightly. Once his hands were under her shirt, he began to rub circles into her tummy.

“You know, you were an amazing mother,” he crooned in her ear. “Always there for the children. You’d get them up early for studies and would feed them after. When they went back to sleep, you would make breakfast for me and the older kids… When we become serious, let me take care of you. You always took care of me.”

Eliza’s face heated up as he pressed a tender kiss to her cheek.

“When we get home from work, I will rub your feet. You’re standing almost all day. Then I will cook us some dinner, and when we’re finished, we can do what you want. Let me make up the time we lost,” Alexander continued, just hugging her closer.

Letting out a quiet breath, Eliza’s eyes fluttered shut. “I want answers,” she mumbled in a sleepy tone, “after we sleep a bit more.”

“I want some as well,” Alexander informed her as he turned off the lamp that lit up the room. Slowly, he laid down, Eliza following him. Instead of cuddling into him like she did last night, she faced away but kept his arm around her waist.

Pulling her a little closer, Alexander rested his chin on her shoulder. They were ultimately spooning, which felt nice on both of their accounts.

“What kind of answers?” Eliza’s words were slurred with exhaustion.

“Why you wandered off, it scared me,” Alexander informed her, pressing a kiss behind her ear. “You had no phone. I thought you were in trouble.”

Eliza quietly chuckled but didn’t reply. She’d fallen asleep then.

Instead of fighting his own, Alexander let his eyes flutter shut and sleep flood through.

Neither of the two were up late by any means. They went to sleep pretty early. Eliza, however, was exhausted by the haunting memories of years before. Alexander, on the other hand, rarely got sleep as it was so catching up might’ve been nice.

By the time it was around eleven, Eliza finally roused from her sleep. The rest she had was exceptional, considering that she remembered nothing of what she dreamt. Although being enlightened was pleasant, it was also a pain when it came to heart-wrenching memories.

Slowly, Eliza sat up and glanced over. Alexander was still asleep and it was rather adorable. His eyes were screwed shut, lips slightly parted as he very quietly snored. She didn’t want to wake him, but when she glanced at the time, she realized that they needed to pack and go. They needed to be out by 11:30.

Gently nudging him, Eliza leaned in and began to call Alexander’s name.

“Alex… We need to go, dear. I am pretty sure that we missed our tour but that’s okay! We just need to get to our next destination,” she cooed, rubbing his bicep.

It took a bit, but as Alexander began to stir, he reached out and grabbed onto her wrist.

At first, Eliza was confused why he did so, but once he moved his grasp from her wrist to her hand, she realized what he was going to do.

Pressing a kiss to her knuckles, Alexander gazed up at her with his big, brown eyes. “Good morning, my love.”

A smile graced Eliza’s face as she sat there. With her free hand, he ran a hand through his hair, slowly letting it fall to his cheek.

“Good morning, Alexander. How are you?”

Alexander quickly sat up, an inquisitive look on his face as he placed his free hand on top of the hand that was cupping his cheek.

“I should be asking you that… I am fine, but how are _you_?”

Eliza felt like she was doing better. The initial shock of remembering every detail of her son’s death had faded, but she was still slightly subdued. That was okay though. Having Alexander to help her was all she needed.

“I think I am okay, but I still have a lot of questions. You do too though.” Patting his cheek, Eliza pulled her hand away and sat it in her lap. “Would you like to enlighten me first?”

Glancing at the time. Alexander grimaced. They were going to pack their shit and leave in a matter of minutes if they were going to leave on time. “We need to go…”

“I know, that’s why I woke you up,” Eliza murmured, glancing back at the clock. “Or we could call in and ask for a little extra time.”

As Alexander stared at the clock, his eyes widened suddenly. “Shit, we missed our time at Mount Vernon…”

He was right. They were supposed to go at nine.

Maybe staying in would’ve been better. Maybe staying in would allow Alexander to list the memories they made at the grand estate and maybe she would remember that way.

Settling down, Eliza grabbed the hotel phone and dialed the front desk.

“What are you doing?” he inquired, sitting up. Loneliness began to loom over him, so he pulled Eliza into his grasp and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Giggling, Eliza nudged Alexander away and went to tell him, but the other line picked up so she had to discuss matters with the workers at the front desk.

“Hello, I am Elizabeth Hamilton and I am in room twelve-fourteen… I was wondering if we could move our checkout time to twelve? We just woke up and require a bit more time before leaving.” Eliza bit her bottom lip and scooted into Alexander’s lap before crossing her legs.

“Of course!” The woman replied. “Thank you for calling in advance! You don’t know how convenient it is for us to call in advance. It’s rare people do.”

“Okay, thanks!” Eliza cheered, entwining her fingers with Alexander’s once she grabbed his hand. “We’ll be down there by twelve!”

As soon as Eliza hung up, she turned around to face Alexander. Placing both hands on his shoulders, she smiled. “What do you want to know?”

A few strands of hair had fallen in Eliza’s eyes, so Alexander nudged the hair out of her face before thinking.

What _did_ he want to ask?

“Why did you leave this morning? I woke up without you… I was really worried. You left your phone behind.” As Alexander gazed at her, he ran the pad of his thumbs over her knuckles.

Eliza didn’t even realize that she left her phone. All that she knew was that the enclosed space was suffocating and she needed to be in a bigger room, alone, to clear her thoughts. So many details of the day bombarded her all at once and it was overwhelming. She was going to take a walk, but she decided that it wouldn’t be safe. Instead, she sat down, got a coffee, and cried.

“I didn’t mean to leave my phone, but when I woke up I felt really claustrophobic and just being with someone nearly gave me an anxiety attack. I don’t know. I felt weird, so I stepped out. I was going to walk, but I realized that I could’ve gotten hurt so I sat down. I really didn’t mean to scare you.” Eliza smiled sadly at Alexander, pushing some hair out of his eyes. “I was completely frantic. I wasn’t thinking.”

A look of worry crossed Alexander’s face. He was going to reach out and talk to her, but his phone began to vibrate against the wood of the side table.

Eliza looked over, raising a brow the minute she saw the number on the screen. Grabbing the phone and holding it out for Alexander, she asked, “Why is my sister calling you?”

The 212 number on Alexander’s phone was unrecognizable to him, but he plucked his phone from Eliza’s hand anyway. “Which one?”

“Angelica, now answer!” She yell-whispered.

Immediately after answering the phone, Alexander held it up to his ear. “Hello?”

“Why are my sister senses tingling?” Angelica asked, an accusing tone in her voice. “What did you do?”

Alexander’s eyes widened. _How did she know?_ Gently pulling himself from under Eliza, he pushed himself up, tucked his free hand under his armpit, and began to pace. “I didn’t do anything, but something happened earlier… Hey. How did you get my number?”

“I have connections,” Angelica stated plainly. “What happened?”

“Eliza remembered Philip’s death,” Alexander mumbled into the phone, glancing over at the woman perched on the bed. She looked at him with curious eyes and a small smile. “We’re talking about it in a minute.”

“Oh..” As out of relief, Angelica sighed. “How did she handle it?”

“Pretty well, actually.” Finally sitting back down next to Eliza, he placed a hand on her thigh. “She had to have some time alone, but I think she’s okay. We’re talking about it in a few minutes and she’ll probably remember more. I’m terrified that she’ll be even more of a wreck, but I know she can pull through it. She’s strong.”

Alexander squeezed her thigh slightly to ensure that he meant it.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Angelica sighed. “Remember, I will find you if you hurt her in _any_ way.”

She hung up with that.

“Angelica knows? She… remembers?”

Alexander looked over at Eliza, the question hanging in the air. Instead of replying, he scooted farther onto the bed and pulled her back between his legs.

“She does,” he answered, running his fingers through her hair. “You’ve always been strong, you know.”

Eliza bit her lip at his statement. “You obviously haven’t met current Eliza’s teenage years.”

“I might have not,” Alexander replied, “but I have known you lifetimes before. You were so strong after Philip—”

_It was very abnormal for Eliza to sit on the piano bench alone. Although Philip was away at school, he would visit oftentimes and sit with her, playing along with her on the piano._

_The sheer thought of knowing that Philip would no longer be coming home was enough to cause Eliza’s heart to wrench, yet she stayed silent. The last thing she wanted was for Alexander to wander in and comfort her. The ache of the affair still lingered, making it hard to even look him in the eyes._

_As she sat there, she pressed middle C and nearly whimpered at the sound. It was almost as if she could hear Philip’s voice echoing through the house, singing along._

_Oh, how she desired to hear him again._

_Sniffing, Eliza brought both hands onto the piano and splayed them down on various keys before playing._

_With each note, she could hear his voice ringing out when no one was there. It was heartbreaking and rejuvenating at the same time and if that was the only way she could hear her son again, she was willing to do it._

_Slowly, playing became harder and harder as the tears built up in her eyes. Although she was sure how to play the song, it was still incredibly hard to focus. After a few more notes, she stopped and finally let the tears roll down her cheeks._

_“Why would you take him, oh God?!” Eliza practically sobbed, finally snapping. She brought both fists down on the keys of the piano, causing a staccato of mismatching notes to ring from the instrument. “How could you do something so malicious?!”_

_Heavy footsteps echoed through the house, all until they reached the parlour. They came to a halt._

_Slowly, the floor creaked under the shoes of whoever it was as they made their way to Eliza and once they reached her, a hand was placed on each of her shoulders._

_“How could this happen?” She sobbed, letting her head hang. “How could he die in my arms?”_

_“My dear,” he beckoned quietly, taking a seat next to her on the bench. “If I could spare his life, if I could trade his life for mine, he would be sitting here right now and you would smile, that would be enough.”_

_For some odd reason, the words seemed to soothe Eliza’s thoughts. The violent tears gushing from her eyes turned into nothing but a trickle and her sporadic breathing pattern settled._

_Even if she was mad at him, she could still appreciate what she had to say._

“—it was amazing.”

“You made me strong…” Eliza looked up at Alexander. “I am strong on my own, but there are parts of me that aren’t completed without you…”

The realization of how perfect they were slapped Eliza across the face. It was obvious the whole time. It excited her that she found someone that completed her, but at the same time, it terrified her.

They’d only again met a few weeks ago. Everything was happening so fast.

Eliza stood up rather quickly, worry painted on her face when she looked down at Alexander. “We need to take this slow.”

At first, Alexander rose a brow at her sudden proposition. However, he knew he needed to give her time so the confused look transformed into a look of understanding.

“That’s okay with me. Take as long as you need. I’ll still be right here.” A reassuring smile formed on Alex’s face as he took her hand.

How did she end up with Alexander? He was so sweet.

A smile formed on Eliza’s face as she ran a hand through his hair. Then, she pulled away from his grasp and went to grab her clothes. “We better start packing.”

“You don’t want to talk about it anymore?” Alexander questioned, doing as she did. They might’ve as well gotten ready to go anyway. “And should we still make a stop at Mount Vernon or no? The memories aren’t too taxing, so I think we can pass this round.”

“No, I am feeling better.” Once she zipped up the suitcase, she plopped down on her butt and turned to Alexander. “And the Mount Vernon thing is up to you.”

“Well, let’s commence with our journey to New Jersey.” Stepping towards Eliza, he held out his hands so he could help her up and she gladly took them.

As she was hoisted up, she asked, “Where are we going in New Jersey?”

Did he want to leave her in suspense, or did he want to inform her that it was the beacon of their relationship many years ago? Surely she knew, but she might’ve forgotten. A smirk found a way to his face as he decided what he would tell her.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”


End file.
